m
1!
KING MUNZA IN FULL DRESS.
THE
HEART OF AFRICA.
THREE YEARS' TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES
IN
THE UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA.
from: 186S TO 1871.
By dr. GEORG SCHWEINFURTH.
translated by ellen e. frewer.
with an introduction by^ winwood reade.
IlSr TTVO VOLTJIVIES.
Vol. II.
WITH MAPS AND WOODCUT ILLUSTRATIONS.
^J^^^^^>V
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE
1874.
S^
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XIII.
The NiAM-NiAM — Signification of the name — General characteristics —
Distinct nationality — Complexion and tattooing — Time spent on hair-
dressing — Frisure a la gloire — Favourite adornments — Weapons —
Soldierly bearing — A nation of hunters — Women agriculturists — The
best beer in Africa — Cultivated plants — Domestic animals — Dogs —
Preparation of maize — Cannibalism — Analogy with the Fans of the
West Coast — Architecture — Power of the princes — Their households
— Events during war — Immunity of the white man — Wanton de-
struction of elephants — Bait for wild-fowl — Arts and manufactures —
Forms of gi-eeting — Position of the women — An African pastime —
Musical taste — Professional jesters and minstrels — Praying-machine
— Auguries — Mourning for the dead — Disposal of the dead — Genea-
logical table of Niam-niam princes ,. • Page 1
CHAPTEE XIV.
Mohammed's friendship for Munza — Invitation to an audience — Solemn
escort to the royal halls — Waiting for the king — Architecture of the
halls — Grand display of ornamental weapons — Fantastic attire of the
sovereign — Features and expression — Stolid composure — Oflerinc
gifts — Toilette of Munza's wives — The king's mode of smoking — Use
of the cola-nut — Musical performances — Court fool — Court eunuch —
Munza's oration — Monbuttoo hymn — Munza's gratitude — A present
of a bouse — Curiosity of natives — Skull-market — Niam-niam envoys
— Fair complexion of natives — Visit from Munza's wives — Triumphal
procession — A bath under surveillance — Discovery of the sword-bean —
Munza's castle and private apartments — Eeserve on geographical sub-
jects — Non-existence of Piaggia's lake — My dog exchanged for a
pygmy — Goats of the Momvoo — Extract of meat — Khartoomers'
stations in Monbuttoo country — Mohammed's plan for proceeding south-
wards— Temptation to penetrate farther towards interior — Money and
good fortune — Great festival — Cajsar dances — Munza's visits — The
Guinea-hog — My washing-tub 37
yir\oo/rQ
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV.
The MoNBUTTOo — Previous accounts of the Monbuttoo — Population —
Surroundins nations — Neglect of -agriculture — Products of the soil —
Produce of the chase — Forms of greeting — Preparation of food — Uni-
versal cannibalism — National pride and warlike spirit — Power of the
sovereign — His habits — The royal household — Advanced culture of
tlic Monbuttoo — Peculiarities of race — Fair hair and complexion —
Analogy to the Fulbe — Preparation of bark — Nudity of the women —
Painting of the body -^ Coiffure of men and women — Mutilation not
practised — Equipment of warriors — Manipulation of iron — Early
knowledge of copper — Probable knowledge of platinum — Tools —
Wood-carving — Stools and benches — Symmetry of water-bottles —
Large halls — Love of ornamental trees — Conception of Supreme
Being Page 80
CHAPTER XVI.
The Pygmies — Nubian stories — Ancient classical allusions — Homer,
Herodotus, Aristotle — My introduction to Pygmies — Adimokoo the
Akka — Close questioning — War-dance — Visits from many Akka —
Mummery's Pygmy corps — My adopted Pygmy — Nsewue's life and
death — Dwarf races of Africa — Accounts of previous authors : Battel,
Dapper, Kolie — Analogy of Akka with Bushmen — Height and com-
plexion— Hair and beards — Shape of the body — Awkward gait —
Graceful hands— Form of skull — Size of eyes and ears — Lips —
Gesticulations — Dialect inarticulate — Dexterity and cunning — Mun-
za's protection of the race 122
CHAPTER XVII.
Return to the North — Tikkitikki's reluctance to start — Passage of the
Gadda — Sounding the Keebaly — The riVer Kahpily — Cataracts of
the Keebaly — Kubby's refusal of boats — Our impatience — Crowds
of hippopotamuses — Possibility of fording the river — Origin and con-
nection of the Keebaly — Division of highland and lowland — Geo-
graphical expressions of Arabs and Nubians — Mohammedan perversions
— Return to Nembey — Bivouac in the border-wilderness — Eating
wax — The Niam-niam declare war — Pariey with the enemy — My
mistrust of the guides — Treacherous attack on Mohammed — M(>-
hammed's dangerous wound — Open war — Detruncated heads — Effect
CONTENTS. V
of arrows — Mohammed's defiance — Attack on the abattis — Pursuit of
the enemy — Inexplicable appearance of 10,000 men — Waudo's unpro-
pitious omen — My Niam-niam and their oracle — Mohammed's speedy
cure — Solar phenomenon — Dogs barbarously speared — Women cap-
tured — Niam-niam affection for their wives — Calamus — Upper course
of the Mbrwole — Fresh captive — Her composure — Alteration in
scenery — Arrival at the Nabambisso Page 147
CHAPTEE XVIII.
Solitary days and short provisions — Productive ant-hill — Ideal plenty
and actual necessity — Attempt at epicurism — Expedition to the east
— Papyrus swamp — Disgusting food of the Niam-niam — Merdyan's
Seriba — Hyaiua as beast of prey — Losing the way — Reception in
Tuhamy's Seriba — Scenery of Mondoo — Gyabir's marriage — Dis-
covery of the source of the Dyoor — iMount Baginze — Vegetation of
mountain — Cyanite gneiss — Mohammed's campaign against Mbeeoh —
Three Bongo missing — Skulls Nos. 36, 37, and 38 — Indifference of
Nubians to cannibalism — Horrible scene — Change in mode of living —
Invasion of ants — Peculiar method of crossing the Sway — Bad tidings
— Successful chase — Extract of meat — Return of long absent friends —
Adventures of Mohammed's detachment — Route from Rikkete to
Kanna — Disappointment with Niam-niam dog — Limited authority of
Nganye — Suspension-bridge over the Tondy 194
CHAPTER XIX.
Division of the caravan — Trip to the east — African elk — Bamboo-forests
— Seriba Mbomo on the Lehssy — Abundance of corn — Route between
Kuddoo and Mbomo — Maize-culture — Harness-bushbock — Leopard
carried in triumph — Leopards and panthers — The Babuckur — Lips of
the Babuckur women — Surprised by buffaloes — Accident in crossing
the Lehssy — Tracts of wilderness — Buffaloes in the bush — The
Mashirr hills — Tamarinds again — Wild dates — Tikkitikki and the
cows — The Viceroy's scheme — Hunger on the march — Passage of the
Tondy — Suggestion for a ferry — Prosperity of Ghattas's establishments
— Arrival of expected stores — A dream realised — Trip to Kurkur —
Hysena dogs — Dislike of the Nubians to pure water — Two soldiers
killed by Dinka — Attempt to rear an elephant — My menagerie —
Accident from an arrow — Cattle plagues — Meteorology — Trip to the
Dyoor — Gyabir's delusion — Bad news of Mohammed — Preparations
for a second Niam-niam journey 246
vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XX.
A disastrous day — Failure to rescue my effects — Burnt Seriba by night
— Comfortless bed — A wintry aspect — Rebuilding the Seriba — Cause
of the fire — Idrees's apathy — An exceptionally wet day — Bad news
of Niam-niam expedition — Measuring distance by footsteps — Start to
the Dyoor — Khalil's kind reception — A restricted wardrobe — Tem-
perature at its minimum — Corn requisitions of Egyptian troops — Slave
trade carried on by soldiers — Suggestions for improved transport —
Chinese hand-baiTows — Defeat of Khartoomers by Ndoruma — Nu-
bians' fear of bullets — A lion shot — Nocturnal disturbance — Mea-
surements of the river Dyoor — Hippopotamus hunt — Habits of hippo-
potamus — Hippopotamus fat — Nile whips — Recovery of a manuscript
— Character of the Nubians — Nubian superstitions — Strife in the
Egyptian camp Page 289
CHAPTEE XXI.
Fresh wanderings — Dyoor reYnedy for wounds — Crocodiles in the Ghetty
— Former residence of Miss Tinne — Dirt and disorder — The Baggara-
Rizegat — An enraged fanatic — The Pongo — Frontiers of the Bongo
and Golo — A buffalo-calf shot — Idrees Wod Defter's Seriba — Golo
dialect — Corn magazines of the Golo — The Kooroo — The goats' brook
— Increasing level of land — Seebehr's Seriba Dehm Nduggoo — Discontent
of the Turks — Visit to an invalid — Ibrahim Effendi — Establishment
of the Dehms — Nubians rivals to the slave-deaiers — Population of Dar
Ferteet — The Kredy — Overland route to Kordofan — Shekka —
Copper mines of Darfoor — Raw copper 332
CHAPTEE XXII.
Underwood of Cycade^e — Peculiar mills of the Kredy — Wanderings in
the wilderness — Crossing the Beery — Inhospitable reception at Man-
goor — Numerous brooks — Huge emporium of slave-trade — Highest
point of my travels — Western limit — Gallery- woods near Dehm
Gudyoo — Scorbutic attack — Dreams and their fulfilment — Courtesy
of Yumma — Remnants of ancient mountain ridges — Upper course of
the Pongo — Information about the far west — Great river of Dar Aboo
Dinga — Barth's investigations — Primogeniture of the Bahr-el-Arab
— First giving of the weather — Elephant-hunters from Darfoor — The
Sehre — Wild game around Dehm Adlan — Cultivated plants of the
Sehre — Magic tuber — Deficiency of water — A night without a roof —
Irrepressible good spirits of the Sehre — Lower level of the land —
CONTENTS. vii
A miniature mountain-rauge — Norway rats — Gigantic fig-tree in
Moody — The " evil -eye " — Little steppe-burniug — Eeturn to Khalil's
quarters 373
CHAPTEE XXIII.
Katherine II.'s villages — Goods bartered by slave-traders — Agents of
slave-traders — Baseness of Fakis — Horrible scene — Enthusiasm of
slave-dealers — Hospitality shown to slave-dealers — Three classes of
Gellahbas — Intercourse with Mofio — Price of slaves — Eelative value
of races — Private slaves of the Nubians — Voluntary slaves — Slave-
women — The murhaga — Agricultural slave-labour — Population of
the district — Five sources of the slave-trade — Eepressive measures
of the Government — Slave-raids of Mehemet Ali — Slow progress of
humanity — Accomplishment of half the work — Egypt's mission —
No co-operation from Islamism — Picgeneration of the East — Depopu-
lation of Africa — Indignation of the traveller — Means for suppressing
the slave-trade — Commissioners of slaves — Chinese immigration —
Foundation and protection of great States Page 410
CHAPTEE XXIV.
Tidings of war — Two months' hunting — Yolo antelopes — Eeed-rats —
Habits of the Aulacodus — Eiver-oysters — Soliman's arrival — Ad-
vancing season — Execution of a rebel — Eeturn to Ghattas's Seriba —
Disgusting population — Allagabo — Alarm of fire — Strange evolutions
of hartebeests — Nubian cattle-raids — Traitors among the natives —
Eemains of Shol's huts — Lepers and slaves — Ambiguous slave-trading
— Down the Gazelle — The Bal^eniceps again — Dying hippopotamus
— Invocation of saints — Disturbance at night — False alarm — Taken
in tow — The Mudir's camp — Crowded boats — Confiscation of slaves
— Surprise in Fashoda — Slave-caravans on the bank — Arrival in
Khartoom — Telegram to Berlin — Seizure of my servants — Eemon-
strance with the Pasha — Mortality in the fever season — Tikkitikki's
death — GdXarra, daXarra 443
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
(ENGRAVED BY J. D. COOPER.)
King Munza in full dress
Remarkable head-dress of the Niam-niam ..
Knives, scimitars, trum bashes, and shield of the Niam-niam
Niara-uiam warrior
Niam-niam warriors
Clay pipes of the Niam-niam . .
Niam-niam dog
Niam-niam granary
Bamogee : or hut for the boys
Niam-niam handicraft
Munza's residence
Breed of cattle from the IMaoggoo country . .
Goat of the Momvoo ..
King Munza dancing before his wives
King Munza's dish
Monbuttoo warriors
Monbuttoo woman
Weapons of the Monbuttoo ..
Spear-heads
Hatchet, spade, and adze, of the Monbuttoo
Wooden kettle-drum ..
Single seat used by the women
Seat-rest
Water-bottles ..
Bongo Woman. Dinka Woman
Bomby the Akka
Nsewue the Akka
Dinka pipe
View on the Keebaly, near Kubby . .
Frontispiece
10
11
to face 12
14
15
. 20
.. 21
.. 26
to face 63
.. 64
.. 69
to face 74
.. 79
.. 103
.. 105
.. 107
.. Ill
.. 112
.. 113
.. 114
.. 115
.. 116
.. 121
.. 130
.. 134
.. 146
to face 158
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
A pvllciy-t'firost
Miiluiinmiil (Ufies liis enemies
( >ur (liiily life in camp..
Suspension-bridge over the Tondy
Horns of Central African Eland
Golo woman
Corn-magazine of the Golo
Krcdy hut
Interior of Kredy liut . .
" Knrra," the magic tuber
A liongo concert
Slave-traders from Kordofan
liabuckur slave . .
Slave at work . .
Hunting reed-rats
Far-cl-boos. (Aulacodus Swinderianm)
Bongo village, near Geer
PACK
to face 166
to face 111
to face 194
to face 244
249
350
352
375
376
399
404
to face 410
420
424
447
449
to face 461
1i rontilaJr Eji»i of Gujiiict SO
lUjiTer ,\. bn-rJier.t. .\>>r ii'J*-
LithT.CKorb»eweit. Berlin.
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
CHAPTER XIII.
The NiAM-yiAM. Signification of the name. General characteristics. Distinct
nationality. Complexion and tattooing. Time spent on hair- dressing.
Frisure a la gloire. Favourite adornments. Weapons. Soldierly bearing.
A nation of hunters. Women agriculturists. The best beer in Africa.
Cultivated plants. Domestic animals. Dogs. Preparation of maize.
Cannibalism. Analogy with the Fans of the West Coast. Architecture.
Power of the princes. Their households. Events during war. Immunity
of the white man. Wanton destruction of elephants. Bait for wild-fowl.
Arts and manufactures. Forms of greeting. Position of the women. An
African pastime. Musical taste. Professional jesters and minstrels. Pray-
ing machine. Auguries. Mourning for the dead. Disposal of the dead.
Genealogical table of Niam-niam princes.
Long before Mehemet Ali, by despatching his expeditions
up the White Nile, had made any important advance into
the interior of the unknown continent — before even a single
sailing vessel had ever penetrated the grass-barriers of the
G-azelle — at a time when European travellers had never
ventured to pass the frontiers of that portion of Central
Africa which is subject to Islamism — whilst the heathen
negro countries of the Soudan were only beginning to dawn
like remote nebulae on the undefined horizon of our geo-
graphical knowledge — tradition had already been circulated
about the existence of a people with whose name the Mo-
hammedans of the Soudan were accustomed to associate
all the savagery which could be conjured up by a fertile
imagination. The comparison might be suggested that just as
2 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
at the present day, in civilised Europe, questions concerning
the descent of men from apes form a subject of ordinary con-
versation, so at that time in the Soudan did the Niam-niam
(under tlie supposition that they were graced with tails) serve
as common ground for all ideas that pertained to the origin
of man. This people, whose existence was evoked from the
mysterif us hordes of witches and goblins, might have va-
nished amidst the dim obscurity of the primeval forests if it
had not been that Alexandre Dumas, in his tale of ' I'Hoinme
Ti Queue,' so rich in its charming simplicity, had, exactly at
the right moment, raised a small memorial which contributed
to its preservation.
To lift in a measure the veil which had enveloped the
Niam-niam with this legendary and magic mystery fell to
the lot of my predecessor Piaggia, that straightforward and
intrepid Italicm who, animated by the desire of opening up
some reliable insight into their real habits, had resided alone
for a wliole year amongst them.*
I reckon it my own good fortune that I was so soon to
follow him into the very midst of this cannibal population.
It was indeed a period of transition from the age of tradition
to that of positive knowledge, but I have no hesitation in
asserting that these Niam-niam, apart from some specialities
which will always appertain to the human race so long as it
hangs unconsciously upon the breast of its great mother
Nature, are men of like passions with ourselves, equally
subject to the same sentiments of grief and joy. I have
interchanged with them many a jest, and I have participated
in their child-like sports, enlivened by the animating beating
of their war-drums or by the simple strains of their man-
dolins.
* In the ' BoUetino della Soc. Geogr. Italiana,' 1868, pp. 91-168, the Marquis
0. Antinori ha?, from the verbal communications of the traveller himself, most
fi.Dscientiously collected Piaggia's experiences and observations in the country
of the Niam-niam during his residence.
APPELLATIONS OF THE NIAM-NIAM. 3
The name Niam-niam * is borrowed from the dialect of the
Dinka, and means " eaters," or rather " great eaters," mani-
festly betokening a reference to the cannibal propensities of
the people. This designation has been so universally incor-
porated into the Ai'abic of the Soudan, that it seems unad-
visable to substitute for it the word " Zandey," the name by
which the people are known amongst themselves. Since
among the Mohammedans of the Soudan the term Niam-
niam (plur. Niamah-niam) is principally associated with the
idea of cannibalism, the same designation is sometimes
applied by them to other nations who have nothing in
common with the true Niam-niam, or " Zandey," except the
one characteristic of a predilection for eating human flesh.
The neighbouring nations have a variety of appellations to
denote them. The Bongo on the north sometimes call them
Mundo, and sometimes Manyanya ; in the country behind
these are the Dyoor, wlio uniformly speak of them as the
0-]\radyaka ; the tribe of the Mittoo on the east give
them the name of the Makkarakka, or Kakkarakka; the
Golo style them Kunda ; whilst among the Monbuttoo they
are known as Babungera.
The greater part of the Niam-niam country lies between
the fourth and sixth parallels of north latitude, and a line
drawn across the centre from east to west would correspond
with the watershed between the basins of the Nile and Tsad,
My own travels were confined exclusively to the eastern
portion of the country, which, as far as I could understand,
is bounded in that direction by the upper course of the
Tondy ; but in that district alone I became acquainted with
as many as thirty-five independent chieftains who rule over
the portion of Niam-niam territory that is traversed by the
trading companies from Khartoom.
Of the extent of the country towards the west I was unabk-
* It should again be mentioned that the word Niam-niam is a dissyllable,
and l.as the Italian pronunciation of Gnam-gnam
4 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
to gain any definite information; but as far as the land is
known to the Nubians it would appear to cover between five
and six degrees of longitude, and must embrace an area ol
about 48,000 square miles. The population of the known
regions is at least two millions, an estimate based upon the
number of armed men at the disposal of the chieftains
through whose territory I travelled, and upon the corre-
sponding reports of the fighting force in the western districts
No traveller could possibly find himself for the first time
surrounded by a group of true Niam-niam without being
almost forced to confess that all he had hitherto witnessed
amongst the various races of Africa was comparatively tame
and uninteresting, so remarkable is the aspect of this savage
people. No one, after observing the promiscuous inter-
mingling of races which (in singular contrast to the unifor-
mity of the soil) prevails throughout the entire district of
the Gazelle, could fail to be struck by the pronounced
characteristics of the Niam-niam, which make them capable
of being identified at the first glance amidst the whole series
of African races. As a proof of this, I may introduce a case
in point. I was engaged one day in taking the measure-
ments of a troop of Bongo bearers, when at once I detected
that the leader of the band had all the characteristics of the
Niam-niam type. I asked him how it happened that he was
a " nyare," i.e., a local overseer, among the Bongo, when the
mere shape of his head declared him, beyond a doubt, to be
a Niam-niam. To the amazement of all who were present
he replied that he was born of Niam-niam parents, but that
it had been his fate when a child to be conveyed into the
country of the Bongo. This is an example which serves to
demonstrate how striking are the distinctions which enable
an observer to carry out the diagnosis of a negro with such
certainty, and to arrive at conclusions which ordinarily could
only be conjectured by noticing his apparel or some external
and accidental adornments.
APPEARANCE OF THE NIAM-NIAM. 5
I propose in the present chapter to give a brief summary
of the characteristics of this Niam-niam people, and shall
hope so to explain the general features of their physiological
and osteological aspect, and so to describe the details of their
costume and ornaments, that I may not fail in my desire tc»
convey a tolerably correct imj^ression of this most striking race.
The round broad heads of the Niam-niam, of which the
proportions may be ranked among the lowest rank of brachy-
cephaly, are covered with the thick frizzly hair of what
are termed the true negroes; this is of an extraordinary
length, and arranged in long plaits and tufts flowing over
the . shoulders and sometimes falling as low as the waist.
The eyes, almond-shaped and somewhat sloping, are shaded
with thick, sharply-defined brows, and are of remarkable
size and fulness; the wide space between them testifies to
the unusual width of the skull, and contributes a mingled
expression of animal ferocity, warlike resolution, and inge-
nuous candour. A flat square nose, a mouth of about the
same width as the nose, with very thick lips, a round chin,
and full plump cheeks, complete the countenance, which
may be described as circular in its general contour.
The body of the Niam-niam is ordinarily inclined to be
fat, but it does not commonly exhibit much muscular
strength. The average height does not exceed that of
Europeans, a stature of 5 feet 10^ inches being the tallest
that I measured. The upper part of the figure is long
in proportion to the legs, and this peculiarity gives a
strange character to their movements, although it do^s, not
impede their agility in their war dances.
The skin in colour is in no way remarkable. Like that
of the Bongo, it may be compared to the dull liue of a cake
of chocolate. Among the women, detached instances may
be found of various shades of a copper-coloured complexion,
but the ground-tint is always the same — an earthy red, in
contrast to the bronze tint of the true Ethiopian (Kushitic)
Vol. II.— 2
C THE HEART OF AFRICA.
races of Nubia. As marks of nationality, all the "Zandey "
score themselves with three or four tattooed squares filled
up with dots ; they place these indiscriminately upon the
forehead, the temples, or the cheeks. They have, moreover,
a figure like the letter X under the breasts; and in some
exceptional cases they tattoo the bosom and upper parts of
the arm with a variety of patterns, either stripes, or dotted
lines, or zigzags. No mutilation of the body is practised by
either sex, but this remark must be subject to the one ex-
ception that they fall in with the custom, common to the
whole of Central Africa, of filing the incisor teeth to a point,
for the purpose of effectually griping the arm of an adver-
sary either in wrestling or in single combat.
On rare occasions, a piece of material made from the bark
of the Urostigma is worn as clothing ; but, as a general rule,
the entire costume is composed of skins, which are fastened
to a girdle and form a picturesque drapery about the loins.
The finest and most variegated skins are chosen for this pur-
pose, those of the genet and colobus being held in the highest
estimation ; the long black tail of the quereza monkey (Colobus)
i-s also fastened to the dress. Only chieftains and members
of royal blood have the privilege of covering the head with
a skin, that of the serval being most generally designated
for this honour. In crossing the dewy steppes in the early
morning during the rainy season, the men are accustomed to
wear a large antelope hide, which is fastened round the
neck, and, falling to the knees, effectually protects the body
from the cold moisture of the long grass. A covering, which
always struck me as very graceful, was formed from the skin
of the harness bush-bock (^4. scri^ta), of which the dazzling
white stripes on a yellowish ground never fail to be very
effective. The sons of chieftains wear their dress looped up
on one side, so that one leg is left entirely bare.
The men take an amount of trouble in arranging their
hair which is almost incredible, whilst nothing could be more
HEAD-DEESS OF THE NIAM-NIAM. 7
simple and unpretending than the ordinary head-gear of the
women. It woukl, indeed, be a matter of some difficulty to
discover any kind of plaits, tufts, or top-knots whicli has
not already been tried by the Niam-niam men. The hair is
usually parted right down the middle ; towards the forehead
it branches off, so as to leave a kind of triangle ; from the
fork which is thus formed a tuft is raised, and carried back
to be fastened behind ; on eitlier side of this tuft the hair is
Remarkable head-dress of the Niam-niam.
arranged in rolls, like the ridges and crevices of a melon.
Over the temples separate rolls are gathered up into knots,
from which hang more tufts, twisted like cord, that fall
in bunches all round the neck, three or four of the longest
tresses being allowed to go free over the breast and shoulders.
The women dress their hair in a simpler but somewhat
similar manner, omitting the long plaits and tufts. The
most peculiar head-gear that I saw was upon some men who
8 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
came from the territory of Keefa, and of this a representa-
tion is given in the accompanying portrait. These people
reminded me very much of the description given by Living-
stone of the Balonda, that people of Londa, on the Zambesi,
which he came across during his first journey. The head is
encircled by a series of rays like the glory which adorns the
likeness of a saint. This circle is composed entirely of the
man's own hair, single tresses being taken from all parts of
the head and stretched tightly over a hoop, which is orna-
mented with cowries. The hoop is fastened to the lower
rim of a straw hat by means of four wires, which are
drawn out before the men lie down to sleep, when the
whole arrangement admits of being folded back. This ela-
borate coiffure demands great attention, and much time
must be devoted to it every day. It is only thp men who
wear any covering at all upon their head : they use a
cyhndrical hat without any brim, square at the top and
always ornamented with a waving plume of feathers ; the
hat is fastened on by large hair-pins, made either of iron,
copper, or ivory, and tipped with crescents, tridents, knobs,
and various other devices.
A very favourite decoration is formed out of the incisor
teeth of a dog strung together under the hair, and hanging
along the forehead like a fringe. The teeth of different
rodentia likewise are arranged as ornaments that resemble
strings of coral. Another ornament, far from uncommon,
is cut out of ivory in imitation of lions' teeth, and arranged
in a radial fashion all over the breast, the effect of the
white substance in contrast with the dark skin being very
striking. Altogether the decoration may be considered as
imposing as the pointed collar of the days of chivalry, and
is quite in character with the warlike nation who find
their pastime in hunting. Glass beads are held in far less
estimation by the Niam-niam than by the neighbouring
races; and only that lazuli blue sort which I have men-
TRUMBASHES. 9
tioned as known iu the Khartoom market by the name
of "mandyoor" finds any favour at all amongst them.
Cowries are often used to trim the girdles as well as the
head-gear.
The principal weapons of the Niam-niam are their lances
and their trumbashes. The word "trumbash," whicli has
been incorporated into the Arabic of the Soudan, is the
term employed in Sennaar to denote generally all the
varieties of missiles that are used by the negro races ; it
should, however, properly be applied solely to that sharp
flat projectile of wood, a kind of boomerang, which is used
for killing birds or hares, or auy small game : when the
weapon is made of iron, it is called " kulbeda." The truni-
bash of the Niam-niam * consists ordinarily of several limbs
of iron, with pointed prongs and sharp edges. Iron missiles
very similar in their shape are found among the tribes of
the Tsad basin; and a weapon constructed on the same
principle, the "changer manger," is in use among the
Marghy and the Musgoo.
The trumbashes are always attached to the inside of the
shields, which are woven from the Spanish reed, and are
of a long oval form, covering two-thirds of the body; they
are ornamented with black and white crosses or other
devices, and are so light that they do not in the least
impede the combatants in their wild leaps. An expert
Niam-niam, by jumping up for a moment, can protect his
feet from the flying missiles of his adversary. Bows and
arrows, which, as handled by the Bongo, give them a
certain advantage, are not in common use among the
Niam-niam, who possess a peculiar weapon of attack in
their singular knives, that have blades like sickles. The
Monbuttoo, who are far more skilful smiths than the Niam-
niam, supply them with most of these weapons, receiving
* The accompanying illustration (page 10) gives examples of five difl'erent
forms of trumbash.
10
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
iu return a heavy kind of lance, that is adapted for the
elephant and buffalo chase.
Knivps, pcimitnrs, trumbashes. and shield of the Xiam-niam.
(The shield is represented in three different positions.)
NIAM-NIAM WARRIOE.
11
Such are the details with which I present the reader with
my portrait of the Niam-niam in his full accoutrement of
war. With his lance in one hand, his woven shield and
trumbash in the other — with his scimitar in his girdle, and
his loins encircled by a skin, to which are attached the tails
of several animals — adorned on his breast and on his fore-
head by strings of teeth, the trophies of war or of the
chase— his long hair floating freely over his neck and
slioulders — his large keen eyes gleaming from beneath his
in THE HEAKT OF AFllICA.
heavy brow— liis white and pointed teeth shining -from
between his parted lips — he advances with a firm and defiant
bearing, so that tlie stranger as he gazes upon him may-
well behold, in this true son of the African wilderness,
every attribute of the wildest savagery that may be con-
jured up by the boldest flight of fancy. It is therefore by
no means difficult to account for the deep impression made
by the Niam-niam on the fantastic imagination of the
Soudan Arabs. I have seen the wild Bishareen and other
Bedouins of the Nubian deserts; I have gazed with admi-
ration upon the stately war-dress of the Abyssinians; I
have been riveted with surprise at the supple forms of the
mounted Baggara : but nowhere, in any part of Africa, have
I ever come across a people that in every attitude and every
motion exhibited so thorough a mastery over all the circum-
stances of war or of the chase as these Niam-niam. Other
nations in comparison seemed to me to fall short in the
perfect ease — I might almost say, in the dramatic grace — that
characterised their every movement.
In describing this people, it is hard to determine how
far they ought to be designated as a nation of hunters, or
one of agriculturists, the two occupations apparently being
equally distributed between the two sexes. The men most
studiously devote themselves to their hunting, and leave
the culture of the soil to be carried on exclusively by the
women. Occasionally, indeed, the men may bring home a
supply of fruits, tubers and funguses from their excursions
through the forests, but practically they do nothing for
the support, of their families beyond providing them with
game. The agriculture of the Niam-niam, in contrast with
that of the Bongo, involves but a small outlay of labour.
The more limited area of the arable land, the larger number
of inhabitants that are settled on every square mile, the
greater productiveness of the soil, of which in some districts
the exuberance is unsurpassed — all combine to make the
ELEUSINE BEER. 13
cultivation of the country supremely easy. The entire land
is pre-eminently rich in many spontaneous products, animal
and vegetable alike, that conduce to the direct maintenance
of human life.
The Eleusine coracana (the " raggi " of the East Indies),
a cereal which I had found only scantily propagated among
the people that I have hitherto described, is here the staple
of cultivation ; sorghum in most districts is quite unknown,
and maize is only grown in inconsiderable quantities.
Here, as in Abyssinia (where its product is called tocusso),
eleusine affords a material for a very palatable beer.* In
the Mohammedan Soudan the inhabitants, from cold fer-
mented sorghum-dough, extract the well-known merissa ;
and by first warming the dough, and exercising more
care and patience in the process, is made the bilbil of the
Takareer ; neither of these beverages, however, to our palate
would be much superior to sour pap : even the booza of
Egypt, made though it is from wheat, is hardly in any
respect superior in quality. But the drink which by tlie
Niam-niam is prepared from their eleusine is really capable,
from the skill with which it is manipulated, of laying a
fair claim to be known as heer. It is quite bright ; it is of
a reddish-pale brown colour, and it is regularly brewed from
the malted grain, without the addition of any extraneous
ingredient; it has a pleasant, bitter flavour, derived from
the dark husks, which,, if they were mixed in their natural
condition with the dough, would impart a twang that
would be exceedingly unpalatable. How large is the pro-
portion of beer consumed by the Niam-niam may be
estimated by simply observing the ordinary way in which
they store their corn. As a regular rule, there are three
granaries allotted to each dwelling, of which two are made
* The brewing of beer from malted eleusine is practised in many of the
heathen negro countries; and in South Africa the Makalaka, a branch of
the great Bantoo race, are said to devote a considerable attention to it.
14
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
to suffice for the supply which is to contribute the meal
necessary for the household; the other is entirely devoted
to the grain that has been malted.
Manioc, sweet potatoes, yams, and colocasiae are cultivated
with little trouble, and rarely fail to yield excellent crops.
Plantains are only occasionally seen in the east, and from
the districts in which I travelled, I should judge that they
are not a main support of life at any latitude higher than
4° N. Sugar-canes and oil-palms entirely failed in this
part of the land, but I was informed that they were as
plentiful in Keefa's territory as they are among the IMon-
buttoo.
Clay pipes of the Niam-niani.
All the Niam-niam are tobacco-smokers. Their name for
the Nicotiana tahacum is " gundey," and they are the only
people of the Bahr-el-Ghazal district that have a special
designation for the plant. The other sort, N. rustica, wliich,
on the contrary, has a local appellation in nearly every
dialect of the neighbouring nations (apparently denoting
NTAM-NIAM DOGS.
15
that the plant is indigenous to Central Africa) is utterly
unknown throughout the country. The people smoke from
clay pipes of peculiar form, consisting of elongated bowls
without stems. Like other negro races that remain un-
tainted by Islamisra, they abstain from ever chewing the
tobacco.
Niam-niam Dog.
In broad terms, it may be stated that no cattle at all
exists in the land ; the only domestic animals are poultry and
dogs. The dogs belong to a small breed resembling the wolf-
dog, but with short sleek hair ; they have ears that are large
and always erect, and a short curly tail like that of a young
pig. They are usually of a bright yellowish tan colour, and
very often have a white stripe upon the neck ; their lanky
16 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
muzzle projects somewhat abruptly from an arched fore-
head ; their legs are short aud straight, thus demonstrating
that tlie animals have nothing in common with the terrier
breed depicted upon the walls of Egyptian temples, and of
which the African origin has never been proved. Like dogs
generally in the ISile district, they are deficient in the dew-
claws of the hind-feet. They are made to wear little wooden
bells round their necks, so that they should not be lost in
the long steppe grass. After the pattern of their masters
they are inclined to be corpulent, and this propensity is>
encouraged as much as possible, dogs' flesh being esteemed
one of the choicest delicacies of the Niam-niam.
Cows and goats are familiar only by report, although it
may happen occasionally that some are brought in as the
result of raids that have been perpetrated upon the adjacent
territories of the Babuckur and the Mittoo. ■ There would
hardly seem to be any specific words in the language to
denote either sheep, donkeys, horses, or camels, which,
according to common conception, would all come very much
under the category of fabulous animals.
Although the Niam-niam have a few carefully-prepared
dishes of which they partake, in a general way they exhibit
as little nicety or choice in their diet as is shown by all
the tribes (with the remarkable exception of the Dinka) of
the Bahr-el-Ghazal district. The most palatable mess that I
found amongst them was composed of the pulp of fresh
maize, ground while the grain is still soft and milky, cleansed
from the bran, and prepared carefully so that it was not
burnt to the bottom of the pot. The mode of preparation is
rather ingenious. A little water having been put over the
fire till it is just beginning to boil, the raw meal, which has
previously been rolled into small lumps, is very gently shaken
in, and, having been allowed to simmer for a time, the whole
is finally stirred up together.
The acme, however, of all earthly enjoyments would seem
EEPUTED CANNIBALISM. 17
to be meat. " Meat ! meat ! " is the watchword tliat resounds
in all their campaigns. In certain places and at particular
seasons the abundauce of game is very large, and it might
readily be imagined that the one prevailing and permanent
idea of this people would be how to chase and secure their
booty ; but, as I have remarked before, there is no greater
evidence of the real difference between the disposition of
nations than that which is afforded by their general expression
for food. As, for example, the Bongo verb " to eat " is " mony,"
which is their ordinary designation of sorghum, their corn ;
so the Niam-uiam word is identical with " pushyoh," which
is their common name for meed.
Just as in his investigation of the animal and vegetable
kingdoms the naturalist is attracted to the very lowest
organizations because they contain the germs of the higher
and more complicated, in the same degree does the interest
of the traveller centre upon the simplest development of
culture, because he knows that it is the embryo of the most
advanced civilization.
The accuracy of the report of the cannibalism which has
uniformly been attributed to the Niam-niam by every nation
which has had any knowledge at all of their existence,
would be questioned by no one who 'had a fair opportunity
of investigating the origin of my collection of skulls. To a
general rule, of course, there may be exceptions here as
elsewhere ; and I own that I have heard of other travellers
to the Niam-niam lands who have visited the territories of
Tombo and Bazimbey, lying to the west of my route, and
who have returned without having witnessed any proof of
the practice. Piaggia, moreover, resided for a considerable
time in those very districts, and yet was only once a witness
of anything of the kind ; and that, as he records, was upon the
occasion of a campaign, when a slaughtered foe was devoured
from actual bloodthirstiness and hatred. From my own
knowledge, too, I can mention chiefs, like Wando, who
18 THE HEART OP AFRICA.
vehemently repudiated tlie idea of eating human flesh, al-
though their constant engagement in war furnished them
with ample opportunity for gratifying their taste if they
desired. But still, taking all things into account, as well
what I heard as what I saw, I can have no hesitation in
asserting that the Niam-niam are anthropophagi ; that
they make no secret of their savage craving, but osten-
tatiously string the teeth of their victims around their necks,
adorning the stakes 'erected beside their dwellings for the
exhibition of their trophies with the skulls of the men whom
they have devoured. Human fat is universally sold. When
eaten in considerable quantity, this fat is presumed to
have an intoxicating effect ; but although I heard this
stated as a fact by a number of the people, I never could
discover the foundation upon which they based this strange
belief.
In times of war, people of all ages, it is reported, are eaten
up, more especially the aged, as forming by their helpless-
ness an easier prey to the rapacity of a conqueror ; or at
any time should any lone and solitary individual die, un-
cared for and unheeded by relatives, he would be sure to be
devoured in the very district in which he lived. In short,
all who witli ourselves would be consigned to the knife of
the anatomist would here be disposed of by this melancholy
destiny.
I have already had occasion to mention how the Nubians
asserted that they knew cases in which Bongo bearers who
had died from fatigue had been dug out from the graves in
which they had been buried, and, according to the state-
ments of Niam-niam themselves — who did not disown their
cannibalism — there were no bodies rejected as unfit for food
except those which had died from some loathsome cutaneous
disease. In opposition to all this, I feel bound to record
that there are some Niam-niam who turn with such aversion
from any consumption of human flesh that they would
ANALOGY WITH THE FAN. 19
peremptorily refuse to eat out of the same dish with any
one who was a cannibal. The Niam-niam may be said to be
generally particular at their meals, and when several are
drinking together they may each be observed to wipe the
rim of the drinking vessel before passing it on,
Of late years our knowledge of Central Africa has been in
many ways enlarged, and various well-authenticated reports
of the cannibalism of some of its inhabitants have been
circulated ; but no explanation which can be offered for this
unsolved problem of psychology (whether it be considered as
a vestige of heathen worship, or whether it be regarded as
a resource for supplying a deficiency of animal food) can
mitigate the horror that thrills through us at every repe-
tition of the account of the hideous and revolting custom.
Among all the nations of Africa upon whom the imputation
of this odious custom notoriously rests, the Fan, who dwell
upon the equatorial coasts of the west, have the repute of
being the greatest rivals of the Niam-niam. Eye-witnesses
agree in affirming that the Fan barter their dead among
themselves, and that cases have been known where corpses
already buried have been disinterred in order that they
might be deyoured. According to their own accounts, the
Fan migrated from the north-east to the western coast. In
various particulars they evidently have a strong affinity with
the Niam-niam. Both nations have many points of resem-
blance in dress and customs : alike they file their teeth to
sharp points ; they dress themselves in a material made from
bark, and stain their bodies with red wood ; the chiefs wear
leopard skins as an emblem of their rank ; and all the people
lavish the same elaborate care upon the arrangement of
their tresses. The complexion of the Fan is of the same
copper-brown as that of the Niam-niam, and they indulge
in similar orgies and wild dances at the period of every
full moon; they moreover pursue the same restless hunter
life. They would appear to be the same of whom the old
YOL. II. — 3
20
THE IIEAPtT OF AFPJCA.
Portuguese writers have spoken under the name of " Yagas,"
and who are said, at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, to have laid waste the kingdom of Loango.
No regular towns or villages exist throughout the Niam-
niam country. The huts, grouped into little hamlets, are
scattered about the cultivated districts, which are separated
from one another by large tracts of wilderness many miles in
extent. The residence of a prince differs in no respect from
that of ordinary subjects, except in the larger number of
huts provided for himself
and his wives. The hareem
collectively is called a " bodi-
moh." *
The architecture of the
eastern Niara-niam corre-
sponds very nearly with what
may be seen in many other
parts of Central Africa. The
conical roofs are higher and
more pointed than those of
the Bongo and Dinka, having
a projection beyond the clay
walls of the hut, which affords
a good shelter from the rain.
This projection is supported
by posts, which give the whole
building the semblance of
being surrounded by a veran-
dah. The huts that are used
for cooking have roofs still
more pointed than those which serve for sleeping. Other
little huts, with bell-shaped roofs, erected in a goblet-shape
upon a substructure of clay, and furnished with only one
Niam-niam Gr.inary.
-■' "Boilimob," in the Zandey dialect, has ako the miauinj; of ''papyrus.
KEVENUE OF THE CHIEFTAINS.
21
small aperture, are called " bamogee," and are set apart, as
being secure from the attacks of wild beasts, for sleeping-
places of the boys, as soon
as they are of an age to
be separated from the
adults.
Every sovereign prince
bears the title of " Bya,"
which is pronounced very-
much like the French
word hien. His power is
limited to the calling to-
gether of the men who are
capable of bearing arms,
to the execution in person
of those condemned to
death, and to determining
whether there shall be
peace or war. Except the
ivory and the moiety of elephant's flesh, he enjoys no other
revenue ; for his means of subsistence he depends upon his
farms, which are worked either by his slaves or more
generally by his numerous wives. Towards the west, where
a flourishing slave-trade is driven to the cost of the oppressed
inhabitants wlio are not true Zandey, a portion of the tribute
is raised by a conscription of young girls and boys, a part of
the purchase-money paid by the Darfoor traders to the chief
being handed over to the parents who are thus robbed of
their children.
Although a Niam-niam chieftain disdains external pomp
and repudiates any ostentatious display, his authority in one
respect is quite supreme. Without his orders no one would
for a moment entertain a thought either of opening war or
concluding peace. The defiant imperious bearing of the
chiefs alone constitutes their outward dignity, and there are
Bamogee : or hut for the boys.
. 22 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
some who in majestic deportment and gesture might vie
with any })otentate of the earth. The dread with which they
inspire their subjects is incredible: it is said that for the
l)Ui-pose of exhibiting their power over life and death they
will occasionally feign fits of passion, and that, singling
out a victim from the crowd, they will throw a rope about
his neck, and with their own hands cut his throat with one
stroke of their jagged scimitar. This species of African
" Caesarism " vividly recalls the last days of Theodore, King
of Abyssinia.
The eldest son of a chief is considered to be the heir to
his title and dignity, all the other sons being entrusted with
the command of the fighting forces in separate districts,
and generally being assigned a certain share of the hunting
booty. At the death of a chief, however, the firstborn is
frequently not acknowledged by all his brothers; some of
them perchance will support him, whilst others will insist
upon their right to become independent rulers in the districts
where they have been acting as " behnky." Contentions of
this character are continually giving rise to every kind
of aggression and repeated deeds of violence.*
Notwithstanding the general warlike spirit displayed by
the Niam-niam, it is a very singular fact that the chieftains
very rarely lead their own people into actual engagement,
but are accustomed, in anxious suspense, to linger about the
environs of the " mbanga," ready, in the event of tidings of
defeat, to decamp with their wives and treasures into the
most inaccessible swamps, or to betake themselves for con-
cealment to the long grass of the steppes. In the heat of
combat each discharge of lances is accompanied by the
loudest and wildest of battle-cries, eveiy man as he hurls his
* Of the thirty-five chieftains who rule over these 48.000 square miles of
territory, comparatively few in any way merit the designation of king. The
most powerful are Kanna and Mofio, whote donanions are in extent equal to
iibout a dozen of the others.
EMBLEMS OF WAR. 2?.
weapon shouting aloud the name of his chief. In the inter-
vals between successive attacks the combatants retire to a
safe distance, and mounting any eminence that may present
itself, or climbing to the summit of the hills of the white
ants, which sometimes rise to a height of 12 or 15 feet, they
proceed to assail their adversaries, for the hour together,
in the most ludicrous manner, with every invective and
every epithet of contempt and defiance they can command.
During the few days that we were obliged to defend our-
selves by an abattis against the attacks of the natives in
Wando's southern territory, we had ample opportunity of
hearing these accumulated opprobriums. We could hear
them vow that the " Turks " should perish, and declare that
not one of them should quit the country alive ; and then we
recognised the repeated shout, "To tlie caldron with the
Turks ! " rising to the eager climax, " Meat ! meat ! " It
was emphatically announced that there was no intention to
do any injury to the white man, because he was a stranger
and a new-comer to the land ; but I need hardly say that,
under the circumstances, I felt little inclination to throw
myself upon their mercy.
It is in a measure anticipating the order of events, but
I may here allude to the remarkable symbolism by which
war was declared against us on the frontiers of Wando's
territory when we were upon our return journey. Close on
the path, and in full view of every passenger, three objects
were suspended from the branch of a tree, viz. an ear of
maize, the feather of a fowl, and an arrow. The sight seemed
to recall the defiant message sent to the great King of
Persia, when he would penetrate to the heart of Scythia.
Our guides readily comprehended, and as readily explained,
the meaning of the emblems, which were designed to signifv
that whoever touched an ear of maize or laid his grasp upon
a single fowl would assuredly be the victim of the arrow.
Without waiting, however, for any depredations on our part,
24 THE HEART OF AFKICA.
the Niam-niam, with tlie basest treachery, attacked us on
the following day.
In hunting, the Niam-niam employ very much the same
contrivances of traps, pits, and snares as the Bongo; but
their haftues for securing the larger animals are conducted
both more systematically and on a more extensive scale.
In close proximity to each separate group of hamlets, and
more frequently than not at the threshold of the abodes of
the local chieftains known as the " borrumbanga," or " chief
court," there is always a huge wooden kettledrum, made of
a hollow stem mounted upon four feet. The sides of this
are of unequal thickness, so that when the drum is struck it
is capable of giving two perfectly distinct sounds. According
to the mode or time in which these sounds are rendered,
three different signals are denoted, the first being the signal
for war, another that for hunting, and the third a summons
to a festival. Sounded originally in the mbanga of the
chief, these signals are in a few minutes repeated on the
kettledrums of the "borrumbangas" of the district, and in
an incredibly short space of time some thousands of men,
armed if need be, are gathered together.
Perhaps the most frequent occasions on which these
assemblages are made ai'ise from some elephants having
been seen in the adjacent country. As soon as the force is
collected, the elephants are driven towards some tracts of
dense grass that have been purposely spared from the steppe
burning. Provided with firebrands, the crowd surrounds
the spot; the conflagration soon extends on all sides, until
the poor brutes, choked and scorched, fall a helpless prey
to their destroyers, who despatch them with their lances.
Since not only the males, with their large and valuable
tusks, but the females also with the young, are included in
this wholesale and indiscriminate slaughter, it may easily be
imagined how year by year the noble animal is fast being
exterminated. The' avarice of the chiefs, ever desirous of
NIAM-NIAM HANDICRAFT. 25
copper, and the greediness of the people, ever anxious for
flesh, make them all alike eager for the chase. I constantly
saw the natives returning to their huts with a large bundle
of what at first I imagined was firewood, but which in reality
was their share of elepliant-meat, which after being cut into
strips and dried over a fire had all the appearance of a
log of wood.
The thickets along the river-banks abound in many kinds
of wild fowl, which the natives catch by means of snares.
The most common are guinea-fowl and francolins, which
are caught by a bait that is rather unusual in other places.
Instead of scattering common corn in the neighbourhood of
the traps, the people make use of fragments of a flesh v
Stapelia. This little succulent grows on the dry parts of
the steppe, and is frequently found about the white ant-
hills; it is likewise naturalised in Arabia and Xubia, and in
a raw condition is sometimes eaten as human food. Birds
are very fond of it, and so approved is it as a bait that I not
unfrequently found it growing beside tlie huts, where it was
planted for this particular purpose.
Tlie handicraft of the Niam-niam exhibits itself chiefly in
ironwork, pottery, wood carving, domestic architecture, and
basket-work ; of leather-dressing they know no more than
others in this part of Central Africa. Their earthenware
vessels may be described as of blameless symmetry. They
make water-flasks of an enormous size, and manufacture
pretty little drinking-cups. They lavish extraordinary care
on the embellishment of their tobacco-pipes, but they have
no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper con-
sistency by washing out the particles of mica and by
adding a small quantity of sand. From the soft wood of
several of the Eubiacese they carve stools and benches, and
produce great dishes and bowls, of wliicli the stems and
pedestals are very diversified in pattern. I saw specimens
of these wliieh were admirable works of ait, and the designs
26
THE HEART OF AFIHCA.
15.
Niam-niam handicraft.
1. WoodPii signal drum.
2 and 3. Jlandolins.
4. Bedstead.
6. Iron bell.
6. Carved head for the neck of ] 9, 10, 11,12,13. Wooden dishes.
a mandolin. 14. Mungala-board.
1. Carved signal-pipe. ! 15. Wooden stool.
8. Wooden doc;-bell.
GREETINGS. 27
of which were so complicated that they must have cost the
inventor considerable thought.
As every Niam-niam soldier carries a lance, trumbash,
and dagger, the manufacture of these weapons necessarily
employs a large number of smiths, who vie with each other
in producing the greatest variety of form. The dagger is
worn in a sheath of skin attached to the girdle. The lance-
tips differ from those of the Bongo in having a hastate shape,
to use once more the botanical term which distinguishes the
folia liastata from the folia lanceolata. Every weapon bears
so decidedly the stamp of its nationality that its origin is
discoverable at a glance. All the lances, knives, and dagger-
blades are distinguished by blood-grooves, which are not to
be observed upon the corresponding weapons of either the
Bongo or Dyoor.
Mutual greetings among the Niam-niam may be said to
be almost stereotyped in phrase. Any one meeting another
on the way would be sure to say " rnuiyette ;" but if they
were indoors, they would salute each other by saying " mooke-
note " or " mookenow." Their expression for farewell is
" minahpatiroh ;" and when, under any suspicious circum-
stances, they wish to give assurance of a friendly intention,
they make use of the expression " badya, badya, muie "
(friend, good friend, come hither). They always extend
their right hands on meeting, and join them in such a way
that the two middle fingers crack again ; and while they are
shaking hands they nod at each other with a strange move-
ment, which to our Western ideas looks like a gesture of
repulse. The women, ever retiring in their habits, are not
accustomed to be greeted on the road by any with whom
they are not previously intimate.
No wooing in this country is dependent, as elsewhere in
Africa, upon a payment exacted from the suitor by the
father of the intended bride. When a man resolves upon
matrimony, the ordinary rule would be for him to apply to
28 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the reigning prince, or to tbe sub-chieftain, who would at
once endeavour to procure him such a wife as might appear
suitable. In spite of the prosaic and matter-of-fact pro-
ceeding, and notwithstanding the unlimited polygamy which
prevails throughout the land, the marriage-bond loses no-
thing of the sacredness of its liabilities, and unfaithfulness
]s generally punished with immediate death. A family of
children is reckoned as the best evidence and seal of con-
jugal affection, and to be the mother of many children is
always recognised as a claim to distinction and honour. It
is one of the fine traits of this people that they exhibit
a deep and consistent affection for their wives, and I shall
have occasion in a future chapter to refer to some touching
instances of this feature in their character.
The festivities that are observed on the occasion of a
marriage are on a verj' limited scale. There is a simple
procession of the bride, who is conducted to the home of
her future lord by the chieftain, accompanied by musicians,
minstrels, and jesters.* A feast ensues, at which all partake
in common, although, as a general rule, the women ai'e
accustomed to eat alone in their own huts. The domestic
duties of a housewife consist mainly in cultivating the home-
stead, preparing the daily meals, painting her husband's
body, and dressing his hair. In this genial climate children
require comparatively little care or attention, infants being
carried about everywhere in a kind of band or scarf.
The Niam-niam have one recreation which is common to
nearly the whole of Africa. A game, known by the Nubians
as " mungala," is constantly played by all the people of the
entire Gazelle districts, and although perhaps it is not known
by the Monbuttoo, it is quite naturalised among all the
negroes as far as the West Coast. It is sinsrular that this
* Among the Kaffirs tlie ceremony of conducting a bride to her new home is
observed with mucli formality.
GAME OF MUNGALA. 29
pastime should be so familiar to the Mohammedan Nubians,
who only within the last twenty years have had any inter-
course at all with the negroes of the south ; but in all likeli-
hood they received it in the same way as the guitar,* as a
legacy from their original home in Central Africa. The
Peulhs devote many successive hours to the amusement,
which requires a considerable facility in ready reckoning ;
they call it " wuri." The game is played likewise by the
Foolahs, the Yolofs, and the Mandingo, on the Senegal. It
is found again among the Kadje, between the Tsad and the
Benwe. The recurrence of an object even trivial as this
is an evidence, in its degree, indirect and collateral, of the
essential unity that underlies all African nations.
The " muugala " itself f is a long piece of wood, in which
two parallel rows of holes are scooped out. Nubian boards
have sixteen holes, the Niam-niam have eighteen. Each player
has about two dozen stones, and the skill of the game consists
in adroitly transferring the stones from one hole to another.
In default of a board the game is frequently played upon the
bare ground, in which little cavities are made for the purpose.
Having thus detailed their warlike demeanour, their do-
mestic industry, and their common pastime, I would not
omit to mention that the Niam-niam are no strangers to
enjoyments of a more refined and ideal character than battles
and elephant-hunts. They have an instinctive love of art.
Music rejoices their very soul. The harmonies they elicit
from their favourite instrument, the mandolin, seem almost to
thrill through the chords of their inmost nature. The pro-
longed duration of some of their musical productions is very
surprising. Piaggia, before me, has remarked that he be-
lieved a Niam-niam would go on playing all day and all
night, without thinking to leave off either to eat or to drink ;
* Vide vol. i. chap. ix.
t A mungala board iri represented in Fig. 14 of the plate illustrating Niam-
niam handicraft.
30 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and although I am quite aware of the voracious propeu si-
ties of the people, I am half-inclined to believe that Piaggia
was right.
One favourite instrument there is, which is something
between a harp and a mandolin. It resembles the former in
the vertical arrangement of its strings, whilst in common
with the mandolin it has a sounding-board, a neck, and
screws for tightening the strings. The sounding-board is
constructed on strict acoustic principles. It has two aper-
tures ; it is carved out of wood, and on the upper side is
covered by a piece of skin ; the strings are tightly stretched
by means of pegs, and are sometimes made of fine threads
of bast, and sometimes of the wiry hairs from the tail .
of the giraffe. The music is very monotonous, and it is
very difficult to distinguish any actual melody in it. It
invariably is an accompaniment to a moaning kind of re-
citative, which is rendered with a decided nasal intonation.
I have not mifrequently seen friends marching about arm-in-
arm, wrapt in the mutual enjoyment of their performance,
and beating time to every note by nodding their heads.
There is a singular class of professional musicians, who
make their appearance decked out in the most fantastic way
with feathers, and covered with a promiscuous array of bits
of wood and roots and all the pretentious emblems of
magical art, the feet of earth-pigs, the shells of tortoises, the
beaks of eagles, the claws of birds, and teeth in every variety.
Whenever one of this fraternity presents himself, he at once
begins to recite all the details of his travels and experiences
in an emphatic recitative, and never forgets to conclude by
an appeal to the liberality of his audience, and to remind
them that he looks for a reward either of rings of copper or
of beads. Under minor differences of aspect, these men may
be found nearly everywhere in Africa. Baker and some
other travellers have dignified them with the romantic name
of " minne-singers," but the designation of " hashash " (buf-
ZANDEY DIALECT. 31
foons) bestowed upon them by the Arabs of the Soudan
would more fairly describe their true character. The Niam-
uiam themselves exhibit the despicable light in which they
regard them by calling them " nzangah," * which is the
same term as that by which they designate those abandoned
women who pollute Africa no less than every civilized country.
The language of the Niam-niam (or, to speak more pro-
perly, the Zandey dialect), as entirely as any of the dialects
which prevail throughout the Bahr-el-Ghazal district, is an
upshoot from the great root which is the original of every
tongue in Africa north of the equator, and is especially allied
to the Nubio-Lybian group. Although the pronunciation is
upon the whole marked and distinct, there are still certain
sounds which are subject to a considerable modification, even
when uttered by the same individual. The nasal tone which
is given to the open sounds of a and e as they rise from the
throat fix a character upon tlie articulation that is quite
distinct from that of the i-5ongo, and altogether the dialect is
poorer in etymological construction, being deficient in any
separate tenses for the verbs; it is, moreover, far less
vocalised, and has a cumbrousness which arises from the
preponderance of its consonants.
The language is undoubtedly very wanting in expressions
for abstract ideas. For the Divinity I found that many
interpreters would employ the word " gumbah," which signi-
fies "lightning," whilst, in contrast with this, other inter-
preters would make use of the term " bongbottumu ;" but
I imagine that this latter expression is only a kind of a peri-
phrasis of the Mohammedan "rasool" (a prophet, or messenger
of God), because "mbottumu" is their ordinary term by
which they would designate any common messenger or envoy.
* In Loango all exorcists and conjurors are called "gauga," an appella-
tion which would nppear to have the same derivation as this Zaudey word
•• nzangah." The " Griots " in Seuegambia are held in the same contempt as
the Niam-niam minstrels.
32 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Although none of the natives of the Gazelle district may
be credited with the faintest conception of true religion, tlie
Niam-niam have an expression of their own for " prayer "
as an act of worship, such as they see it practised by th«^
Mohammedans. This word is " borru." When, however, the
expression is examined, it is found really to relate to the
auf>-ury which it is the habit of the people to consult before
they enter upon any important undertaking.
The augury to which I have thus been led to refer is
consulted in the following way. From the wood of the
Sarcocephalus Bussegeri, which they call " damma," a little
four-legged stool is made, like the benches used by the
women. The upper surface of this is rendered perfectly
smooth. A block of wood of the same kind is then cut, of
which one end is also made quite smooth. After having
wetted the top of the stool with a drop or two of water, they
grasp the block and rub its smooth part backwards and
forwards over the level surface with the same motion as if
they were using a plane. If the wood should glide easily
along, the conclusion is drawn that the undertaking in
question will assuredly prosper ; but if, on the other hand,
the motion is obstructed and the surfaces adhere together —
if, according to the Niam-niam expression, a score of men
could not give free, movement to the block — the warning is
unmistakable that the adventure will prove a failure.
Now, since they also use this term " borru " to describe
.the prayers of the Mohammedans, there seems some reason-
able evidence for supposing that they actually regard this
rubbing as akin to a form of w^orship. As often as I asked
any of the Niam-niam what they called prayers, they in-
variably replied by referring to this practice and by making
the gesture which I compare to working with a plane. This
praying-macthine is concealed as carefully as may be from
the eyes of the Mohammedans. It was, however, frequently
resorted to during tlie subsequent brief period of warfare,
NIAM-NIAM AUGURIES. 33
whea my own Niam-niam attendants diligently consulted
the oracle, and, as the result was uniformly satisfactory, it
contributed not a little to confirm their confidence in my
reputation for good luck.
There are other ordeals common to the Niam-niam with
various negro nations, and which are considered as of equal
or still greater importance. An oily fluid, concocted from a
red wood called " bengye," is administered to a hen. If the
bird dies, there will be misfortune in war ; if the bird sur-
vives, there will be victory. Another mode of trying their
fortune consists in seizing a cock, and ducking its head
repeatedly under water until the creature is stiff and
senseless. They then leave it to itself. If it should
rally, they draw an omen that is favourable to their
design; whilst if it should succumb, they look for an ad-
verse issue.
A Niam-niam could hardly be induced to go to war
without first consulting the auguries, and his reliance upon
their revelations is very complete. For instance, Wando,
our inveterate antagonist, although he had succeeded in
rousing two districts to open enmity against us, yet personally
abstained from attacking our caravan, and that for no other
reason than that his fowl had died after swallowing the
" bengye " that had been administered. We awaited his
threatened attack, and were full of surprise that he did not
appear. Shortly afterwards, "we were informed that he had
withdrawn in fear and trembling to an inaccessible retreat
in the wilderness. Our relief was considerable. It might
have fared very badly with us, as all our magazines were
established on his route ; but, happily, he had gone, and the
Niam-niam with whom we were brought in contact stoutly
maintained that it was the death of his fowl alone which had
deterred him from an assault and had rescued us from entire
destruction.
These au2;uries are consulted likewise in order to ascertain
34 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the guilt or innocence of any that are accused, and suspected
witches are tried by the same ordeal.
The same belief in evil spirits and goblins which prevails
among the Bongo and other people of Central Africa is
found here. Tlie forest is uniformly supposed to be the
abode of the hostile agencies, and the rustling of the foliage
is imagined to be their mysterious dialogue. Superstition,
like natural religion, is a child of the soil, and germinating
like the flowers of the field it unfolds its inmost secrets.
Beneath the dull leaden skies of the distant North there are
believed to be structures haunted by ghosts and spectres.
Here the forest, with its tenantry of owls and bats, is held to
be the abode of malignant spirits ; whilst betwixt both are
the Oriental nations, who, without forests, and exposed to the
full strength of a blazing sun, fear nothing so much as " the
evil eye." Truly it may be averred that the development of
superstition is dependent upon geographical position.
In thus recapitulating the general characteristics of the
Niam-niam, this chapter necessarily has exhibited some
measure of repetition. I will proceed to conclude it, in the
same manner as the record of the Bongo, by a few remarks
upon the customs of this people with regard to their dead.
Whenever a Niam-niam has lost any very near relative
the first token of his bereavement is shown by his shaving
his head. His elaborate coiffure — that which had been his
pride and his delight, the labour of devoted conjugal hands —
is all ruthlessly destroyed, the tufts, the braids, the tresses
being scattered far and wide about the roads in the recesses
of the wilderness.
A corpse is ordinarily adorned, as if for a festival, with
skins and feathers. It is usually dyed with red wood. Men
of rank, aiter being attired with their common aprons, are
interred either sitting on their benches, or are enclosed in a
kind of coffin, which is made from a hollow tree.
According to the prescriptions of the law of Islam, the
NIAM-NIAM GRAVES. 35
earth is not thrown upon the corpse, which is placed in a
cavity that has been partitioned off at the side of the grave.
This is a practice mentioned before, and which is followed in
many heathen parts of Africa.
Like the Bongo, the Niam-niam bury their dead with a
scrupulous regard to the points of the compass ; but it is
remarkable that they reverse the rule, the men in their
sepulture being deposited with their faces towards the east,
the women towards the west.
A grave is covered in with clay, which is thoroughly
stamped down. Over the spot a hut is erected, in no respect
differing externally from the huts of the living, and being
equally perishable in its construction, it very soon either
rots away through neglect or is destroyed in the annual
conflagration of the steppe-burning.
Vol. II.— 4
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THE HEART OF AFRICA.
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CHAPTER XIV.
Mohammed's friendship for Munza. Invitation to an audience. Solemn
escort to the royal halls. Waiting for the King. Architecture of the halls.
Grand display of ornamental weapons. Fantastic attire of the sovereign.
Features and expression. Stolid composure. Offering gifts. Toilette of
Munza's -wives. The king's mode of smoking. Use of the cola-nut.
Musical performances. Court fool. Court eunuch. Munza's oration.
Monbuttoo hymn. Munza's gratitude. A present of a house. Curiosity
of natives. Skull-market. Niam-niam envoys. Fair complexion of natives.
Visit from Munza's wives. Triumphal procession. A bath under sur-
veillance. Discovery of the sword-bean. Munza's castle and private apart-
ments. Reserve on geographical subjects. Non-existence of Piaggia's
lake. My dog exchanged for a pygmy. Goats of the Momvoo. Extract
of meat. Khartoomers' stations in Monbuttoo country. Mohammed's plan
for proceeding southwards. Temptation to penetrate farther towards
interior. Money and good fortune. Great festival. Caisar dances.
Munza's visits. The Guinea-hog. My washing-tub,
MuNZA was impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Khar-
toomers. His storehouses were piled to the full with ivory,
the hunting booty of an entire year, which he was eager to
exchange for the produce of the north or to see replaced by
new supplies of the red ringing metal which should flow
into his treasury.
This was Mohammed's third visit to the country, and not
only interested motives prompted the king to receive him
warmly, but real attachment ; for the two had mutually pledged
their friendship in their blood, and called each other by the
name of brother. During his absence in Khartoom, Mohammed
had entrusted the command of the expedition of the previous
year to his brother Abd-el-fetah, a Mussulman of the purest
water and a hypocritical fanatic, who had greatly offended
y-A tf-^ #~ft *^ O
38 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the king by his arrogance and unsympathetic reserve. He
considered himself defiled by contact with a " Kaffir," and
would not allow a nigger to approach within ten steps of his
person ; he refused to acknowledge either African king or
prince, and always designated the ladies of the court as
slaves. But Mohammed was entirely different. By all the
natives he was known by his unassuming title of " Mbahly,"
i.e., the little one, and in all his dealings with them he was
urbanity itself. He won every heart by adopting the national
costume, and attired in his native rokko-coat and scarlet
plume, he would sit for hours together over the brimming
beer-flasks by the side of his royal confrere, recounting to
him all the wonders of the world and twitting him with his
cannibal propensities. No wonder then that Munza's daily
question to Mohammed's people had been : " When will
Mbahly come ?" and no wonder that, as we were preparing to
cross the great river, his envoys had met us with a cordial
greeting for his friend. Nor was the attachment all on
Mnnza's side. Immediately on our arrival, Mohammed,
leaving the organization of our encampment entirely to the
discretion of his lieutenants, had gathered up his store of
presents, and hastened to convey them to the king. The
greater part of these offerings consisted of huge copper
dishes, not destined, however, in this remote comer of the
globe to be relegated to the kitchen, jjut to be employed for
the far more dignified office of furnishing music for the royal
halls. The interview was long, and our large encampment
was complete and night was rapidly approaching before
Mohammed returned to his quarters. He came accompanied
by the triumphal strain of horns and kettle-drums, and
attended by thousands of natives bearing the ample store of
provisions which, at the king's commands, had been instantly
forthcoming. He announced that I was invited to an audience
of the king on the following morning, and that a state re-
ception was to be prepared in honour of my visit. It need
SUMMONS TO THE KING. 39
hardly be said that it was with feelings of wonder and
curiosity that I lay down that night to rest.
The 22nd of March, 1870, was the memorable date on
which my introduction to the king occurred. Long before I
was stirring, Mohammed had once more betaken himself to
the royal quarters. On leaving my tent, my attention was
immediately attracted to the opposite slopes, and a glance at
the wide space between the king's palace and the houses of
his retinue was suflScient to assure me that unusual animation
prevailed. Crowds of swarthy negroes were surging to and
fro ; others were hurrying along in groups, and ever and anon
the wild tones of the kettle-drum could be heard even where
I was standing. Munza was assembling his courtiers and
inspecting his elephant-hunters, whilst from far and near
streamed in the heads of households to open the ivory-
mart with Mohammed, and to negotiate with him for the
supply of his provisions.
Somewhat impatiently I stood awaiting my summons to
the king, but it was already noon before I was informed that
all arrangements were complete, and that I was at liberty to
start. Mohammed's black body-guard was sent to escort me,
and his trumpeters had orders to usher me into the royal
presence with a flourish of the Turkish reveille. For the
occasion I had donned a solemn suit of black. I wore my
unfamiliar cloth-coat, and laced up the heavy Alpine boots,
that should give importance to the movements of my light
figure ; watch and chain were left behind, that no metal
ornament might be worn about my person. With all the
solemnity I could 1 marched along ; three black squires bore
my rifles and revolver, followed by a fourth with my inevitable
cane-chair. Next in order, and in awestruck silence, came
my Nubian servants, clad in festive garments of unspotted
whiteness, and bearing in their hand the offerings that liad
been so long and carefully reserved for his Monbuttoo
majesty.
40 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
It took us half an hour to reach the royal residence. The
path descended in a gentle slope to the wooded depression of
the brook, then twisted itself for a time amid the thickets of
the valley, and finally once more ascended, through extensive
plantain-groves, to the open court that was bounded by a
wide semicircle of motley dwellings. On arrival at the low
parts of the valley we found the swampy jungle-path bestrewn
with the stems of fresh-hewn trees and a bridge of the same
thrown across the water itself. The king could hardly have
been expected to suggest such peculiar attention of his own
accord, but this provisionary arrangement for keeping my
feet dry was made in compliance with a kindly hint from
Mohammed, who, knowing the nature of my boots, and the
time expended in taking them off and on, had thus thought-
fully insured my ease and comfort; moreover, these boots
were unique in the African world, and must be preserved
from mud and moisture. Unfortunately all these arrange-
ments tended to confirm the Monbuttoo in one or other of
their infatuated convictions, either that my feet were like
goats' hoofs, or, according to another version, that the firm
leather covering was itself an integral part of my body. The
idea of goats' feet had probably arisen from the comparison
of my hair and that of a goat ; and doubtless the stubborn-
ness with which I always refused to uncover my feet for
their inspection strengthened them in their suspicion.
As we approached the huts, the drums and trumpets were
sounded to their fullest powers, and the crowds of people
pressing forward on either hand left but a narrow passage for
our procession. We bent our steps to one of the largest
huts, which formed a kind of palatial hall open like a shed
at both ends. Waiting my arrival here was one of the
officers of state, who, 1 presume, was the master of the
ceremonies, as I afterwards observed him presiding over the
general festivities. This official took me by the right hand,
And without a word conducted me to the interior of the hall.
WAITING FOR THE KING. 41
Here, like the audience at a concert, were arranged according
to their rank hundreds of nobles and courtiers, each occupy-
ing his own ornamental bench and decked out with all his
war equipments. At the other end of the building a space
was left for the royal throne, which differed in no respect
from the other benches, except that it stood upon an out-
spread mat ; behind this bench was placed a large support
of singular construction, resting as it seemed upon three legs,
and furnished with projections that served as props for the
back and arms of the sitter : this support was thickly studded
with copper rings and nails. I requested that my own chair
might be placed at a few paces from the royal bench, and
there I took up my position with my people standing or
squatting behind me, and the Nubian soldiers forming a
guard around. The greater number of the soldiers had their
guns, but my black squires, who had never before been
brought face to face with so mighty a potentate, subsequently
confessed to me that their hearts beat fast, and that they
could not help trembling to think how a sign from Munza
could have brought all our limbs to the spit.
For a considerable time I had to sit waiting in expectation
before the empty throne. My servants informed me that
Munza had attended the market in his ordinary costume, but
that he had been seen to hasten home to his private apart-
ments, where he was now imdergoing a process of anointing,
frizzling, and bedizening at the hands of his wives, in order
that he should appear before me in the imposing splendour of
his state attire. I had thus no other alternative than patiently
to abide my time ; for what could be more flattering to a foreign
guest than for a king to receive him in his costliest toilet ?
In the interval of waiting there seemed a continuous up-
roar. The fitful beating of kettle-drums and the perpetual
braying of horns resounded through the airy building until
it shook again, and mingling with the boisterous strains rose
the voices of the assembled courtiers as they whiled away
42 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the time in loud and eager conversation. There was no doubt
that I was myself the main cause of their excitement ; for
although I sat with my back to the majority, I could not be
otherwise than quite aware that all eyes were intently fixed
upon me. All, however, kept their seats at a respectful
distance, so that I could calmly look about me and note down
my observations of what I saw.
The hall itself was the chief object that attracted my atten-
tion. It was at least a hundred feet in length, forty feet high,
;ind fifty broad. It had been quite recently completed, and
the fresh bright look of the materials gave it an enlivening
aspect, the natural brown polish of the wood-work looking as
though it were gleaming with the lustre of new" varnish.
Close by was a second and more spacious hall, which in
height was only surpassed by the loftiest of the surrounding
oil-palms ; but this, although it had only been erected five
years previously, had already begun to show symptoms of
decay, and being enclosed on all sides was dark, and there-
fore less adapted for the gathering at a public spectacle.
Considering the part of Africa in which these halls were
Ibund, one might truly be justified in calling them wondert?
of the world ; I hardly know with all our building resources
what material we could have employed, except it were whale-
bone, of sufficient lightness and durability to erect structures
like these royal halls of Munza, capable of withstanding the
tropical storms and hurricanes. The bold arch of the vaulted
roof was supported on three long rows of pillars formed from
perfectly straight tree-stems ; the countless spars and rafters
as well as the other parts of the building being composed
entirely of the leaf-stalks of the wine-palm {Raphia vinifera)*
The floor was covered with a dark red clay plaster, as firm
* This palm is found in every bank-forest in the Moubuttoo country, ami
ita leaves vary from 25 to 35 feet in length: the midrib of the leaf (rhachis)
is of a bright brown colour, and furnishes the mo^t popular building material
throughout Central Africa.
THE ROYAL APPROACH. 43
and smooth as asphalt. The sides were enclosed by a low
breastwork, and the space between this and the arching roof,
which at the sides sloped nearly to the ground, allowed light
and air to pass into the building. Outside against the
breastwork stood crowds of natives, probably the* "great
unwashed" of the Monbuttoo, who were unable to obtain
places within, and contented themselves with eagerly gazing
through this opening at the proceedings. Officials with long
sticks went their rounds and kept order among the mob,
making free use of their sticks whenever it was necessary ;
all boys who ventured uninvited into the hall being vigor-
ously beaten back as trespassers.
I had probably been left for an hour, and was getting lost
in the contemplation of all the wonders, when a louder sound
of voices and an increasing clang of horns and kettle-drums
led me to suppose that there was an announcement of the
approach of the king ; but, no, this was only a prelude. The
sovereign was still being painted and beautified by the hands
of his fair ones. There was, however, a fresh and increasing
commotion near the entrance of the hall, where a number of
ornamental weapons was being arranged. Posts were driven
into the ground, and long poles were fastened horizontally
across them ; then against this extemporized scaffolding were
laid, or supported crosswise, hundreds of ornamental lances
and spears, all of pure copper, and of every variety of form
and shape. The gleam of the red metal caught the rays of
the tropical noontide sun, and in the symmetry of their
arrangement the rows of dazzling lance-heads shone with the
o-low of flaming torches, making a backgroimd to the royal
throne that was really magnificent. The display of wealth,
which according to Central African tradition was incalculable,
was truly regal, and surpassed anything of the kind that I
liad conceived possible.
A little longer and the weapons are all arranged. The
expected king has left bis home. There is a running to and
44. THE HEART OF AFRICA.
fro of heralds, marshals, and police. The thronging masses
flock towards the entrance, and silence is proclaimed. The
kin"- is close at hand. Then come the trumpeters flourishing
away on their huge ivory horns ; then the ringers swinging
their cumbrous iron bells ; and now, with a long firm stride,
looking neither to the right nor to the left, wild, romantic,
picturesque alike in mien and in attire, comes the tawny
Caesar himself! He was followed by a number of his
favoured wives. Without vouchsafing me a glance, he flung
himself upon his unpretending chair of state, and sat with
his eyes fixed upon his feet. Mohammed had joined the
retinue of his royal friend, and took up his position opposite
me on the other side of the king on a stool that was brought
for his accommodation. He also had arrayed himself in a
suitable dress in honour of the occasion, and now sat in the
imposing uniform of a commander of Arnauts.
I could now feast my eyes upon the fantastic figure of the
ruler. I was intensely interested in gazing at the strange
weird-looking sovereign, of whom it was commonly reported
that his daily food was human flesh. With arms and legs/
neck and breast, all bedizened with copper rings, chains, and
other strange devices, and with a great copper crescent at
the top of his head, the potentate gleamed with a shimmer
that was to our ideas unworthy of royalty, but savoured far
too much of the magazines of civic opulence, reminding one
almost unavoidably of a well-kept kitchen ! His appearance,
however, was decidedly marked with his nationality, for ever)'
adornment that he had about him belonged exclusively to
Central Africa, as none but the fabrications of his native land
are deemed worthy of adorning the person of a king of the
Monbuttoo.
Agreeably to the national fashion a plumed hat rested on
the top of his chignon, and soared a foot and a half above his
head ; this hat was a narrow cylinder of closely-plaited reeds ;
it was ornamented with three layers of red parrots' feathers,
THE ROYAL COSTUME. 45
and crowned with a plume of the same ; there was no brim,
but the copper crescent projected from the front like the
vizor of a Norman helmet. The muscles of Munza's ears
were pierced, and copper bars as thick as the finger inserted
in the cavities. The entire body was smeared with the native
unguent of powdered cam-wood, which converted the original
bright brown tint of his skin into the colour that is so
conspicuous in ancient Pompeian halls. With the exception
of being of an unusually fine texture, his single garment
differed in no respect from what was worn throughout the
country ; it consisted of a large piece of fig bark impregnated
with the same dye that served as his cosmetic, and this,
falling in graceful folds about his body, formed breeches and
waistcoat all in one. Eound thongs of buffalo-hide, with
heavy copper balls- attached to the ends, were fastened round
the waist in a huge knot, and like a girdle held the coat,
which was neatly-hemmed. The material of the coat was so
carefully manipulated that it had quite the appearance of a
rich Tuoire antique. Around the king's neck hung a copper
ornament made in little points which radiated like beams all
over his chest ; on his bare arms were strange-looking pen-
dants which in shape could only be compared to drumsticks
with rings at the end. Halfway up the lower part of the
arms and just below the knee were three bright, horny-look-
ing circlets cut out of hippopotamus-hide, likewise tipped
with copper. As a symbol of his dignity Munza wielded in
his right hand the sickle-shaped Monbuttoo scimitar, in
this case only an ornamental weapon, and made of pure
copper.
As soon as the king had taken his seat, two little tables,
beautifully carved,, were placed on either side of his throne,
and on these stood the dainties of which he continually par-
took, but which were carefully concealed by napkins of fip-
bark ; in addition to these tables, some really artistic flasks
of porous clay were brought in, full of drinking water.
46 THE HEART OF AFKICA.
Such was Miinza, the autocrat of the Monbuttoo, with
whom I was now brought face to face. He appeared
as the type of those half-mythical potentates, a species
of Mwata Yanvo or Great Makoko, whose names alone
have penetrated to Europe, a truly savage monarch, without
a trace of anything European or Oriental in his attire,
and with nothing fictitious or borrowed to be attributed to
him.
He was a man of about forty years of age, of a fair
height, of a slim but powerful build, and, like the rest of his
cojintrymen, stiff and erect in figure. Although belonging
to a type by no means uncomely, his features were far from
prepossessing, but had a Nero-like expression that told of
ennui and satiety. He had small whiskers and a tolerably
thick beard ; his profile was almost orthognatic, but the
perfectly Caucasian nose offered a remarkable contrast to
the thick and protruding negro lips. In his eyes gleamed
the wild light of animal sensuality, and around his mouth
lurked an expression that I never saw in any other Mon-
buttoo, a combination of avarice, violence, and love of cruelty
that could with the extremest difficulty relax into a smile.
No spark of love or affection could beam forth from such
features as his.
A considerable time elapsed before the king looked
directly at the pale-faced man with the long hair and the
tight black clothes who now for the first time appeared
before him. I held my hat in my hand, but no greeting had
as yet taken place, for, observing that everyone kept his seat
when the king entered the hall, I had done the same, and
now waited for him to address me. The wild uproar of the
cannibals still continued, and Munza, sitting in a careless
attitude, only raised his eyes now and then from their fixed
stare upon the ground as though to scan the whole assem-
blage, but in reality to take stray glances at my person, and
in this way, little by little, lie satisfied his curiosity. I could
THE ROYAL EECEPTION. 47
not help marvelling at the composure of this wild African,
and wondering where in the world he could have learnt his
dignity and self-possession. .
At length the monarch began to ask me some questions.
They were fluently translated into the Zandey dialect by
the chief interpreter, who always played a principal part in
our intercourse with the natives. The Niam-niam in their
turn i^ndered the sense to me in Arabic. The conversation,
however, was of the most commonplace character, and re-
ferred neither to the purpose of my coming nor to the
country from which I came. Munza's interr6gations brought
to my mind the rough reception afforded to Keinhold
Forster, the companion of the renowned Captain Cook,
by Frederick the Great, who bluntly asked him if he had
ever seen a king ? " Yes, your Majesty," was the answer,
" several ; two tame and three savage." Munza appeared
extremely anxious to keep lip to an Oriental measure the
principle of nil admirari ; nothing could disturb his com-
posure, and even at my subsequent visits, where there was
no state ceremonial, he maintained a taciturnity nearly as
resolute.
My servants now brought forth the presents I had brought
and spread them at the king's feet. These consisted, in the
first place, of a piece of black cloth, a telescope, a silver
platter, and a porcelain vase ; the silver was taken for white
iron, and the porcelain for carved ivory. The next gift was
a real piece of carved ivory, brought as a specimen to show
the way in which the material is employed ; there was a
book with gilt edges, a gift which could not fail to recall to
my mind the scene in which Speke describes Kamrasi's
first lesson in the Bible ; then came a double mirror, that
both magnified and reduced what it reflected; and last,
though by no means least, was a large assortment of beads of
Venetian glass, including thirty necklaces, composed of thirty
distinct pieces, so that Munza was in possession of more than
48 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
a tliousand separate beads.* The universal principle fol-
lowed by the Nubians forbade that any presents of firearms
should be made to native rulers. Munza regarded all these
offerings with great attention, but without committing him-
self to any audible expression of approval. Not so his fifty
wives, who were seated on stools arranged behind his throne ;
they gave frequent half-suppressed utterances of surprise,
and the double mirror was passed admiringly from hand to
hand, its contortions eliciting shouts of delight.
There were fifty of these ladies present : they were only
the most intimate, or wives of the first rank, the entire
number of court ladies being far larger. Except in the
greater elegance of their attire, they departed in no way
from the fashion of the country, the description of which
must be deferred for the present.
After a time Munza turned his attention to his refresh-
ments. As far as 1 could distinguish them, they consisted of
lumps of plantain-meal and tapioca piled on leaves, of dried
plantains, and of a fruit which to my surprise I immediately
recognised as the cola-nut of the west. From this rosy-
shelled kernel the king cut a few slices, and chewed them
in the intervals of smoking his tobacco. His pipe, in the
shape of an iron stem six feet long, was handed to him by a
ehibbukchak, who was in attendance for that purpose. Very
remarkable was the way in which Munza smoked. To bring
himself into the correct position he threw himself far back
in his seat, supported his right elbow on the arm-rest, put
one leg across the other, and with his left hand received the
pipe-stem. In this attitude he gravely took one long inhala-
tion, then, with a haughty gesture, resigned his pipe to the
* I hatl obtained these little works of art from my Venetian friend Miani,
to whom they bad been presented some years previously by his fellow-citizens,
when he was preparing to undertake a new expedition. The enterprise had
failed from no other cause than from the jealousy shown by the Egyptian
Government.
THE ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT. 49
hands of his attendant and allowed the smoke slowly to re-
issue from his mouth. It is a habit among Turks of rank to
smoke thus by taking only two or three inhalations from a
pipe handed to them by their servants ; but where, again, may
I ask, could tliis cannibal prince have learnt such a custom ?
To my request for a cola-nut the king responded by
graciously passing me a specimen with his own hand.
Turning to Mohammed, I expressed my surprise at behold-
ing this fruit of the far west amongst the Monbuttoo ; I told
him of its high value* as a spice in Bornoo, where it is
worth its weight in silver, and I went on to say that it
confirmed my impression that the Welle was identical with
the river of Baghirmy, called the Shary, and that this nut
accordingly came to me like a key to a problem that I was
seeking to solve. Then again addressing Munza, I made
him understand that I knew the fruit, and pointing in the
direction of Lake Tsad, I told him that there it was eaten
by the great people of tlie country. I hoped in this way to
induce him to give me some information on the subject;
but he had made up his mind to be astonished at nothing,
nor could I ever even on future occasions draw him into
a geographical discussion. All that I could learn was that
the cola-nut grew wild in the country, and that it was called
*' nangweh " by the natives, who were accustomed to chew it
in the intervals of their smoking.
The performances that had been prepared for our enter-
tainment now commenced. First of all a couple of horn-
blowers stepped forward, and proceeded to execute solos
upon their instruments. These men were advanced pro-
ficients in their art, and brought forth sounds of such power,
compass, and flexibility tliat they could be modulated from
sounds like the roar of a hungry lion, or the trumpeting of
* According to Liebig the cola-nut contains more cofFeiue than the most
potent coffee berries.
60 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
an infuriated elephant, down to tones which might be
compared to the sighing of the breeze or to a lover's whisper.
One of them, whose ivory horn was so huge that he could
scarcely hold it in a horizontal position, executed rapid
passages and shakes with as much neatness and decision as
though he were performing on a flute.
Next appeared a number of professional singers and
jesters, and amongst them a little plump fellow, who acted
the part of a pantomime clown, and jumj)ed about and
turned somersaults till his limbs looked like the arms of a
windmill ; he was covered from head to foot with bushy tufts
and pigtails, and altogether his appearance was so excessiveh-
ludicrous that, to the inward delight of the king, I burst into a
hearty fit of laughter. I called him a court fool, and in many
respects he fully deserved the title. I hardly know why the
Nubians should have drawn my attention, as though to
something quite new, to the wooden Monbuttoo scimitar that
he wore in his girdle. His jokes and pranks seemed never-
ending, and he was permitted to take liberties with every
one, not excepting even Munza himself; and amongst other
tricks he would approach the king with his right hand
extended, and just as Munza had got hold of it, would start
backwards and make off with a bound. A short time before
he appeared, some freshly baked ears of maize, the first of
the season, had been laid before me; of this delicacy the
fool, with the most comical gestures, made me comprehend
that he wished to partake ; I therefore took up some detached
grains, and threw them, one by one, into his open mouth ;
he caught them with a snap, and devoured them with such
comical grimaces, that the performance called forth a roar
of applause from the whole assembly.
The next episode consisted of the performances of a
eunuch, who formed a butt for the wit of the spectators.
How Munza had come into possession of this creature, no one
seemed to know, and I could only learn that he was employed
THE ROYAL ORATION. 51
in the inner parts of the palace. He was a fat grotesque-
looking figure, and when he sang looked exactly like a
grunting baboon ; to add to the oddity of his appearance,
Munza, as though in mockery of his Nubian guests, had had
him arrayed in a red fez, and thus he was the only one in all
the immense concourse of natives who had anything foreign
in his attire.
But the most important part of the programme was
reserved for the end : Munza was to make an oration. AVhilst
all the audience remained quietly seated on their stools and
benches, up jumped the king, loosened his coat, cleared his
throat, and commenced his harangue. Of course I could
not understand a single word, and a double interpretation
would have been worse tlian useless : but, from what I could
see and hear, it was evident that Munza endeavoured to be
choice and emphatic in his language, as not only did he
often correct himself, but he made pauses after the sentences
that he intended to be impressive, to allow for the applause
of his auditors. Then the shout of " Ee, ee, tchupy, tchupy,
ee, Munza, ee," resounded from every throat, and the musical
instruments caught up the strain, until the uproar was truly
demoniacal. Several times after this chorus, and as if to
stimulate the tumult, Munza uttered a stentorian " brrr - - " *
with a voice so sonorous that the very roof vibrated, and the
swallows fled in terror from their nests in the eaves.
The kettle-drums and horns now struck up a livelier and
more rhythmical strain, and IMunza assumed a new character
and proceeded to beat time with all the solemnity of a
conductor. His hdton was something like a baby's rattle,
and consisted of a hollow sphere of basket-work filled with
pebbles and shells, and attached to a stick.j
* It may interest the reader to learii that in the Shamane prayers " brrr — "
is synonymous with " hail,' and I have little doubt that it here meant some
sort of applause, as it was always the signal for the repetition of the hymn in
celebration of the glories of Munza.
t A similar contrivance is used on the river Gabon on the West Coast.
Vol. n.— 5
62 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
The discourse lasted full lialf an hour, during which time
I took the portrait of the king that forms the frontispiece to
this book. Hunger at length compelled me to take my
leave of the sovereign and retrace my steps to the camp.
At parting Munza said to me, " I do not know what to give
you in return for all your presents ; I am sorry I am so poor
and have nothing to offer you." Fascinated by his modesty
and indulging the idea that it was only a preface to a muni-
ficent gift worthy of royalty, I replied, " Don't mention that :
I did not come for what I could get ; we buy ivory from the
Turks, and pay them with yellow lead and white iron, and
we make white stuffs and powder and guns for ourselves.
I only ask for two things : a pig (Potamochoerus) and a
chimpanzee."
" You shall certainly have them," said Munza ; but I was
thoroughly deceived, and, in spite of my repeated reminders,
neitlier pig nor chimpanzee ever appeared.
As I left the hall the king commenced a new oration.
As for mj-feelf, I was so thoroughly fatigued with the noise
and tumult, that I was glad to spend the remainder of this
memorable day quietly in my tent.
Early on the following morning I was aroused by ray
people, who begged me to come out and see what the king
was sending me. Looking down the road I perceived a
group of Monbuttoo, who with a good deal of shouting were
lugging up the hill something that I could not make out.
Mohammed presently hurried up with the surprising an-
nouncement that he had made Munza comprehend that my
valuables were all lying out in the open air and exposed to
the rain, and that the king was now sending me a house as
his first present. I thought at first that he was jesting, but
a few minutes sufficed to convince me of the truth of his
statement. I then became aware that about twenty natives
were carrying on their shoulders the substructure of a small
quadrilateral house, wliile others were following with the
MONBUTTOO VISITORS. 53
roof. A very short time elapsed before they had mounted
the hill and placed the erection in close juxtaposition to my
tent. The light structure, woven together with the Spanish
reed, looked exactly like a huge hamper, with the roof for
a lid. It was about twenty feet long, and sufficiently com-
modious to contain all my goods, and was especially useful
for protecting my paper packets.
I was thus elevated to the rank and enjoyed the rights
of a householder among the Monbuttoo, and my intercourse
with the natives became more intimate every day. My tent
was continually besieged by a host of curious spectators,
of whom the more well-to-do brought their benches, and,
ranged in rows before the opening, watched in silent eager-
ness my every movement. Their chiefest interest seemed
absorbed in contemplating my person, although many of the
utensils and implements that surrounded me must have been
quite as strange and incomprehensible to them. These
frequent visitors at first afforded me great amusement,
and I received them with friendly gestures, and combed
my hair and shaved in conspsdu omnium. Nor wa&
the wonder all on their side ; every moment revealed
some novelty to myself, and I found full employment in
sketching and taking notes. The great difficulty to our
intercourse was in not understanding one another's language.
Now and then, however, I managed to get hold of some
people who could speak the Zandey dialect ; and then,
with the help of my Niam-niam interpreters, I could ask
them questions and get my wishes conveyed to the general
multitude.
" Bring your weapons," I would say ; " bring your weapons,
and the produce of your handicraft, your ornaments and
tools, and I will give you beautiful things in return ; bring
the fruits of your forests, and the leaves of the trees on
which they grow : bring the skins and skulls of animals ;
but above all brino; the human skulls that remain over from
54 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
your meals : thoy are of no use to you — bring them, and
I will give you copper in exchange."
I hatl rarely occasion to repeat my request, but almost
before my wish was uttered there was opened a regular
curiosity mart ; goods were bartered, and a flourishing trade
was done.
The stock of bones that was thus brought to me in one
day was quite astonishing, and could not do otherwise than
remove any lingering hesitation I might have in believing
the cannibal propensities of the people. There were piles
of every kind — fragments of skulls, and lower jaw-bones from
which the teeth had been extracted to serve as ornaments
for the neck. The belief seemed to be that I had no inten-
tion of dealing otherwise than wholesale. Proofs enough
were before me ; sufficient, I should suppose, to silence even
the most stubborn scepticism. It cost me some trouble to
convince the people that my requirements only extended to
such skulls as were perfectly uninjured, and that for such
only could I be content to pay. For a perfect skull I pro-
mised an armlet of copper, but I found that nearly all that
were brought to me had been smashed for the purpose
of extracting the brains. Out of the two hundred skulls that
were produced, I was able to select no more than forty, each
of which I carefully labelled for consignment to Europe.
The people who brought them professed to give full parti-
culars about them, as to where they had come from, and
whether they were male or female — details which of course
enhanced the value of the collection. The want "of these
particulars detracts very much from the worth of manv
collections of skulls, for, as regards the purposes of com-
parative ethnology, not much information is to be derived
from a skull of which the only explanation is that it came
from Brazil or East Africa. The great majority of those
which the Monbuttoo brought me had been procured from
the people who inhabited the districts south of their own
CONTRIBUTION OF SKULLS. 55
land, and were the result of the raids that had been made
upon them ; hardly any were the skulls of the Monbuttoo
themselves. The condition in which I received many
of the fragments afforded indubitable proof that thev
hfd been boiled in water and scraped with knives; and
some, I suspect, came straight from the platters of the
natives, inasmuch as they were still moist, and had the
odour of being only just cooked. A good many had all the
appearance of being raked out of old dust-heaps, whilst some
few had been found, in the streams, and had manifestly been
laved by the water.
To those who brought the skulls, I thought it expedient
to explain that we wanted them, so that in our far-off country
we could learn all about the people who dwelt here, and that
we were able, from the mere shape of the head, to tell
all about people's tempers and dispositions, their goad
qualities and their bad ; and that for this purpose we
gathered skulls together from every quarter of the globe.
When the Khartoomers saw that the collection was now
going on for a second year, they were only the more con-
firmed in their belief that I submitted them to a certain
process by which I obtained a subtle poison. From the
more dense and stupid natives, the idea could not be eradi-
cated that I wanted all the bones for my food. To save the
honour of Europe, and in love for the science of which I was
the representative, I lavished on these errors an incense
unbefitting the doctrine of Gall's phrenology.
Among those who day after day entered the camp to pay
me a visit, were several who had come from a great distance,
and amongst them the ambassadors of the neighbouring
Niam-niam king, Kanna, whose territories lie to the west
and north-west of the Monbuttoo. The district had been
part of the kingdom of Keefa, a powerful prince, whose
enormous stores of ivory had ever constituted a great attrac-
tion for the expeditions of the Khartoomers, though they
5G THE HEART OF AFRICA.
seldom travelled as far as his dominions. Keefa, whose sm*-
name was Ntikkima, about two years before our arrival, had
lost his life in a campaign against the Mabode, a black negro
people to the south-west of the Monbuttoo. His four eldest
sons had partitioned his extensive power between them, aifc
the largest share of land had fallen to the lot of Kanna, who
now sent the deputation to invite Mohammed to visit his
country. Mohammed, meanwhile, had already determined
that the land of Kanna should be the limit of the southward
march of a corps that he detached ; but time would not per-
mit us ourselves to make so wide a detour. It would occupy
the space of several months.
From these Niam-niam envoys I derived several scraps of
information about the western regions, which threw some
light upon the lower course of the Welle, and of that
other stream to the north of it, which, from the union of
several streams that rise in the district of Wando, appears
very soon to become a large and copious river. Between
these two rivers (the Welle and the so-called Bahr-el -Wando,
which joins it in Kanna's district) was situated the residence
of the deceased Keefa, which, owing to its position, was
described in the Arabic way as being on an island. It was
represented as being to the N.N.W. of Munza's residence,
from which, according to their accounts, it was distant some
forty miles.
I made inquiries amongst them about the white man
Piaggia, whom the Nubians had brought into the country,
and who was afiSrmed to have visited Keefa's residence ; but
my respondent replied that, though they had heard of him
by report, he had never been into the country ; and this cor-
responded exactly with what had been told me by Ghattas's
company that had brought Piaggia as far as Tombo.
All that Piaggia communicated about the Niam-niam was
very interesting, and remains uncontested ; but he lies open
to the reproof of making fictitious routes. It is evident,
THE KING'S SON. 57
moreover, that he arranges the Niam-niam princes in a false
order; for example, he makes Keefa follow immediately
after Malingde or Malindo ; and he only assigns a period of
two days for a journey which Antinori, the editor of his
reports, has simply stated to be sixty-five miles, I should
congratulate a company that could get a party of refractory
bearers to accomplish more than a dozen leagues a day,
where they would have to cross a dozen brooks and marshes,
many of them taking half an hour to accomplish. Not a
word, moreover,. does he utter about the strange people who
reside to the south of the Niam-niam. At Indimma, the
population is a very intermingled race, the Niam-niam
scarcely making up one-half, and in Keefa's region scarcely
making up a minority. Elsewhere Piaggia's observations
seemed acute enough, but here he has nothing to remark.
Many as were the visitors that I received at my tent, none
awakened greater interest than one of the sons of Munza.
The name of this distinguished personage was Bunza, and he
was about the lightest-skinned individual that I had here
beheld. His complexion could not have been fairer if he
had been a denizen of Central Egypt. His hair was equally
pale and grizzly ; his tall chignon being not unlike a bundle
of hemp, and standing in marked contrast to the black
tresses which were stretched across the brow. As the hair
about the temples does not grow sufficiently long for this
purpose, the Monbuttoo are accustomed to use false hair ;
and as fair heads of hair are somewhat uncommon, false
hair to match the original is difficult to purchase. This
young man, of whom I was successful in taking a deliberate
sketch, exhibited all the characteristics of pronounced
albinism, and in truth to a degree which can be often
seen in a fair individual of the true Semitic stock, either
Jew or Arabian. The eyes seemed painfully affected by
light, and had a constant objectless leer; the head, sup-
ported on a shrivelled neck, kept nodding with an involun-
68 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
tary movement, and whenever it rested it was sure to be in
some extraordinary position. Bunza reminded me very
vividly of some white twins that I once saw on the Red
Sea: they were iishermen of Djidda, and looked as like
each other as eggs from one nest. I do not know that I
am warranted in drawing any definite inferences from my
observation ; but I cannot suppress the remark, that to my
mind the Monbuttoo have the tokens of a Semitic origin
most thoroughly impressed upon their countenance, to which
in particular the nose (which does not at all approach to the
common negro outline) very much contributes. Bunza's
nose was a regular hawk's-bill.
Of the other members of the royal family, several of
Munza's wives and his eldest sister came to inspect our
camp. This latter woman was repulsive-looking enough,
and did not appear to possess any of the warlike virtues
attributed to one of her sisters named Nalengbe, who is since
dead, but who had once arrayed herself in a man's dress,
and entered into personal conflict with the Nubians. This
weak woman's vanity made her the laughing-stock of stran-
gers and acquaintances alike ; she perambulated the camp,
displaying the grossest familiarity with the soldiers. She
begged me to make her a present of some lead, which the
Nubians from motives of policy had withheld. Lead was
still in this region as much of a rarity as though it was just
discovered, and produced among them for the first time.
Munza's sister used to hammer bright ear-rings out of what-
ever musket-balls she could procure.
One morning about thirty of the royal ladies came, all
together, into the camp to receive the presents which
Mohammed had provided for them. They all had comely,
youthful, well-knit figures, and were for the most part tall,
but much cannot be said in favour of their expression. They
emulated each other in the extent of their head-gear and in
the profusion with which they adorned the body. Two of
INTRUDERS. 59
them submitted to have their portraits taken ; the whole
party sat in a circle, taking up their position during the
time that I was sketching the likenesses on the little single-
stemmed stools which they had brought with them ; when
they took their seats they threw their bands across their
laps. Some of the group stood .out in marked contrast to
the rest by their light complexion and fair hair, whilst others
approximated very nearly to the colour of cafe-au-lait. When
I had finished my drawing, I was anxious to show my appre-
ciation of the ladies' patience, and accordingly oifered to
present them with some beads, but they at once begged to
refuse the proffered necklace, explaining that they were not
at liberty to accept presents from anyone but "Mbahly"
(Aboo Sammat). These they had come to fetch, but they
had had no orders to receive anything from " Mbarik-pah ;"
it might arouse suspicion, and suspicion with Munza, the
interpreters insisted, was tantamount to death.
However interested I might be, just at first, in the
vivacious movements of the people as they thronged around
me, it did not take long to make me feel that they were a
weariness and a nuisance. On the very next day after our
arrival I was obliged to encircle my tent with a thorn-hedge
to keep off the press of the inquisitive crowds ; full many,
however, there were who would not be deterred by any
obstacle of this kind ; regardless of the obstruction, they
penetrated right into my presence. I ' was interrupted at
every moment by these intrusions. My next resource was
to have a lot of water dashed over the encroaching rabble,
and finding that fail, I fired some trains of gunpowder, and,
in the hopes of alarming the natives, I proceeded to set light
to a few shells ; but even the explosions of these did not
take much effect. It seemed as if nothing could keep the
curious crowds at a distance, and, at my wits' end what to do,
I applied to Mohammed for assistance. He assigned me a
guard of men ; but even this scheme only partially succeeded ;
60 THE HEAET OF AFEICA.
it answered very well as long as I kept within the bounds of
my asylum, but I had only to venture beyond, and I found
my retinue as large as ever. The majority of those who
harassed me in this way were women, who, by keeping up
with me step by step, thoroughly baffled me in all my
attempts to botanize; and if perchance I managed to get
away into the wood, they would find me out, and trample
down the rare flowers I had laboriously collected, till I was
almost driven to despair. When thus escorted by about a
hundred women I was marching down to the streams in the
depth of the valleys, I might indulge the fancy that I was at
the head of a triumphal procession, and as often as our path
led us through villages and farms the numbers in the train
were swollen prodigiously.
Sometimes I was in a better mood, and indulged in a
little joke. I had picked up some of their words, and when
I shouted one of these out loud it was taken up merrily by
the whole party, and passed on from mouth to mouth. Their
word " hosanna," for instance, means " it is not," and on one
occasion having happened to shout out this, I proceeded for
a quarter of an hour while the women around me paused not
a moment in making the air resound with the cry " Hosanna."
Not unfrequently I would try them with some hard crack-
jaw German word, in order to enjoy their conscientious endea-
vours to reproduce it ; but perhaps best of all for producing
a characteristic scene was the choice of one of their imitative
names of animals, where the appellation is derived from the
sounds uttered by the creatures themselves. A goat is in this
way called *' memmeh." I once seated myself in the centre
of a concourse of women, and drew a picture of a couple of
goats, and the keynote being given, every time a fresh woman
came up she found herself greeted with the universal bleating
cry of " Memmeh, memmeh — eh ? " " What's the row ?
What's up ?" would be her question. " Memmeh, memmeh "
(a goat, a goat), would be all the answer.
INQUISITIVENESS. 61
These Monbuttoo women, who were so intolerably obtrusive
whilst I was amongst other folks, were reserved enough about
themselves ; however much I might be anxious to investigate
their domestic habits, I had but to present myself at the
entrances of their huts, and off they were in an instant to
the interior, and their doors barred against all intrusion.
There were delicious places where, encircled by the
luxuriance of a tropical vegetation, the clear and sparkling
pools invited me to the enjoyment of a safe and refreshing
bath, an irresistible attraction after the numberless mud
baths of the Niam-niam country. Everything seemed to
conspire to render the scenery perfect in its bewitching
grace ; each winding of the brook would be overarched by a
magnificent canopy of gorgeous foliage ; the waving pendants
of the blooming shrubs would shadow the secluded stream ;
a fantastic wreath of elegant ferns growing up amongst the
goodly leaves of the aroideae and the ginger-plants would
adorn the banks ; gigantic stems, clothed with accumulated
moss, would rise upwards in majestic height and reach down
like steps in romantic beauty to the bathing-place. But,
alas ! even this nook, where the delights of paradise seem
almost to be perpetuated, may not be secure from the
torment of humanity. It happens here according to the
teaching of the poet, that —
" every prospect pleases.
And only man is vile."
Nature is only free and perfect where man comes not with
his disturbing foot. In my romantic bathing, this disturbance,
ever and again, would come in the shape of some hideous and
inquisitive Monbuttoo woman, who had posted herself on the
overlooking heights, either to enjoy the picturesque contrast
of light and shade, or to gratify her curiosity by getting a
peep at my figure through the openings of the foliage as I
emerged from the dim obscurity of the wood.
A day seldom passed without my making some addition to
62 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
my botanical store. Beside a pathway in the wood I chanced
to come upon the great seeds of a legumen which hitherto
was quite unknown to me ; the natives, when I showed them
to them, told me that the name of the plant which bore
them was the " morokoh ;" after a while I succeeded in getting
an entire pod, and recognised it as the produce of the Entada
seandens, known in the West Indies as the sword-bean. These
seed-vessels attain a length of five feet, and are about as wide
as anyone could span, the seeds themselves being flat, and
having their corners rounded off, and (with the exception of
the produce of some palms) are the largest that are known,
their flattened sides not unfrequently measuring three square
inches. Their size gives them a great capability for resisting
the influence of the sea, and they retain their germinating
power for many months, so that, carried over by the ocean-
currents, they are borne to every quarter of the globe. They
have been observed in the arctic regions and on the northern
shores of Nova Zembla, and within the tropics they have
found their way to both the Indies and to many islands of
the Pacific. These enormous beans bear signal witness to the
course of the Gulf Stream. Their proper home would seem to
be the tropical regions of Africa, as their occurrence in the
Monbuttoo lands, equally distant from either ocean, manifestly
witnesses. Anxious to investigate where the " morokoh "
could really be found, I devoted a special excursion to the
search, and went out for a couple of leagues or more in a
south-westerly direction from the camp. Crossing several
brooks and passing through many a grove of oil-palms, we
reached some farmsteads that were erected in a welcome
shade. All along our steps we were followed by a group of
people who continually fell out and squabbled with the Bongo
and other natives belonging to our caravan, but who towards
myself personally were as courteous and amiable as could
be wished. It might be expected that my bean-pods, five
feet long, would be found upon some enormous trees of
THE KOYAL CASTLE. 63
corresponding growth, but in truth the Entada scandens is a
weak deciduous creeper, which climbs along the underwood
that abounds in the depressions of the brooks.
The twenty days of our residence in this interesting spot
slipped away only too quickly. There was, however, a series
of fresh surprises awaiting me. How I made acquaintance
with the Pygmies is a tale that must be told in a later
chapter. High festivities in the court of the king— the
general summons of the population to take their share in the
hunt as often as either buffaloes or elephants came within
sight — the arrival of vassals conveying their tribute and
making a solemn entrance with their attendant warriors —
all these events succeeded each other in rapid order, and
gave me ample opportunity of studying the peculiarities of
the people from many a different point of view.
T paid repeated visits to the king, sometimes finding him
in his granaries engaged in distributing provisions to his
officers, and sometimes in the inner apartments of his own
special residence. One afternoon I received permission, in
company with Mohammed, to inspect all the apartments of
the royal castle. The master of the ceremonies and the head-
cook escorted us round. Mohammed was already familiar
with all the arrangements, and was consequently able to call
my attention to anything worthy of particular notice. What
I call " the castle " is a separate group of huts, halls, and
sheds, which are enclosed by a jialisade, and which may be
entered only by the king and by the officers and servants of
the royal household. All official business is transacted in
the outer courts. Trees were planted regularly all round the
enclosure, and contributed to give a comfortable and home-
like aspect to the whole. Not only did the oil-palms abound,
but other serviceable trees were planted round the open
space, and declared the permanency of the royal residence, in
contradistinction to the fluctuating and unsettled dwelling-
places of the Niam-niam chieftains.
(54
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
I was next brought to a circular building with an imposing
conical roof, which was appropriated as the arsenal, and was
full of weapons of every variety. Sword-blades and lances
were especially numerous, and I was at liberty to make my
selection out of them, as the king had chosen in this way to
make his return for the presents he had received from me.
The superintendents and keepers of the armoury did all in
their power to interfere with the freedom of my choice, and
as often as I showed my fancy for any piece that was
particularly rare, they hesitated before surrendering it, and
made a condition that the express consent of the king must
be secured before a specimen so recherche could be given up.
As the result of this exchange of presents, I found my tent
loaded with an immense assortment of knives, scimitars
lances, spears, bows, and arrows. At the subsequent confla-
gration all the wooden portions of these were destroyed, but
the metal work was safely remitted to Europe as a proof of
the artistic taste and industry of the people.
The same day I had the opportunity of seeing the splendid
oxen which Munza had received from the friendly king in
Breed of cattle from the Maoggoo countiy.
PIAGGIA'S LAKE. 65
in the south-east, and to which I have already had occasion
to refer.* A representation of one of these animals is now-
introduced, showing the great fat hump, which is larger than
any that I had hitherto seen.
All attempts to elicit any information about the country to
the south 'of their own were quite unavailing; the people
were silent as the tomb. Nor did I succeed much better
when I came to inquire of King Munza himself. Every
inquiry on my part was baffled by the resolute secrecy of
African state policy, and the difficulties of the duplicate
interpretation gave Munza just the pretext he wanted for
circumlocution and evasive replies.
I was most anxious to obtain correct information as to
whether the great inland lake to which Piaggia had referred
had any real existence in the district or not, and I satisfied
myself by positive testimony that the natives had no actual
knowledge about it. But it was really very difficult to con-
vey to them any notion whatever of what was intended ;
there was an utter absence of any simile by which the idea
of a lake, a great inland expanse of fresh water, could be
illustrated, and the languages of the interpreters (Arabic
and Zandey), however copious they might be, were yet inade-
quate in this particular matter. Neither in Egypt nor in
the Egyptian Soudan is there a proper term for ■ a lake.
There are indeed the terms "birket," "foola," and "tirra,"
but these only signify respectively a pond, a rainpool, and a
marsh; and Piaggia, who, as I have pointed out, did not
actually reach Keefa, spoke only from hearsay, either from
the reports of the Nubians, to whom probably some vague
information of Baker's discoveries had reached, or by an
erroneous conception of the explanation of the natives when
they described the " great water," which in reality was the
river flowing past Keefa's residence. Monbuttoo and Niam-
* Vide vol. i. chap. xiii.
YoL. IL— 6
66 THE HEAllT OF AFRICA.
niam alike are entirely incapable of comprehending,' what is
meant by an ocean. Anything contrary to this statement
which may have been spread abroad by Khartoom adven-
turers * I do not think I need hesitate to describe as sheer
nonsense or as idle fancy. The tales of steamers and of ships
with crews of white men, which are said to have been de-
scribed by the natives as having come along their rivers, and
the stories that pictures of these ships have been found in their
dwellings, are doubtless circulated amongst travellers to the
Niam-niam lands, but without any assignable grounds.
After much demurring and waiving the question, the king's
interpreter did aifirm that he knew of such standing water
in the country : he pointed towards the direction of the
W.S.W., and said its name was " Madimmo," and that it was
Muuza's own birthplace. The place was called " Ghilly " by
the Niam-niam ; but when I inquired more accurately, and
began to investigate its extent, I received an answer which
set my mind entirely at rest that it was as large as Munza's
palace !
I nurtured the silent hope that by mentioning certain
names that perchance might be known to the Moubuttoo, I
should succeed in breaking down their reserve. 1 asked the
king if he knew anything of the land of Ulegga and of its
kino- Ixadjoro, or whether he knew King Kamrasi, whose
dominions were beyond the " great water," and behind the
mountains of the Malegga ; and I pointed at the same time
towards the S.E. Then I mentioned Kamrahs, repeating the
word and saying " Kamrahs, Kamrahs," in the way that the
Nubians are accustomed to do, but both Munza and his in-
terpreter were silent, or proceeded to speak of other matters. .
But while this conversation was going on, a significant look
that Munza gave his interpreter did not escape my notice,
* Compare Dr Ori's letter to the Marquis Antiuori in the ' Bolletiuo deUa
Soc. Geogr. Ital.,' i. p. 184.
AN EXCHANGE. 67
and very much confirmed my suspicion that he was not
altogether unacquainted with Kauirasi.
Some time afterwards Munza, in the most off-hand way,
complained that I had not given him enough copper. Know-
ing the general expectations of an African king, I was only
surprised that he had not urged his demand before. He
reminded me of the quantity of copper that Mohammed had
given him : " Mohammed," he said, " is a great sidtan ; but you
are also a great sultan." AYhen 1 reminded him that I did not
take any of his ivory, he seemed to acquiesce in my excuse ;
but he very shortly afterwards sent me some messengers to
request that I would make him a present of the two dogs
which I had brought with me. They were two common
Bongo curs of very small growth, but by contrast with the
mean breed of the Moubuttoo and the Niam-niam they were
attractive enough to excite the avidity of Munza. He had
never seen dogs of such a size, and did not want them as
dainty morsels for his table, but really wished to have them
to keep. However, he had long to beg in vain ; I assured
him that the creatures had grown up with me till I was truly
fond of them ; they were, as I told him, my" children ; I was
not disposed to part with them at any price, and might as
well be asked to give the hair off my head. But my repre-
sentations had no effect upon Muuza ; he had made up his
mind to have the dogs, and did not pass a day without
repeating his request, and enforcing it by sending fresh
relays of presents to my tent. Nothing, however, moved me.
At last some slaves, both male and female were sent, and the
sight of these suggested a new idea. 1 resolved to give way,
and to exchange one of my dogs for a specimen of the little
Akka people. Munza acceded at once, and sent me two of
them. He could not suppress his little joke. "You told
me," said he, " not long since, that the dogs were your chil-
dren ; wliat will you say if I call these my children ? "
I accepted the smallest of the Akka, a youth who might
68 THE HEAK^J' OF AFRICA.
be about fifteen years of age, hoping to be able to take him
to Europe as a living evidence of a truth that lay under the
myth of some thousand years. I shall give a fuller account
of this little specimen of humanity in the chapter that will
be devoted to the subject of the Pygmies.
It had, moreover, become high time for me to give way,
and not to put the cannibal ruler's patience to too severe a
test. The exchange which had been effected restored me to
the royal favour, and a prohibition which had been issued to
the natives, warning them not to have any transactions with
me by selling me produce or curiosities, was withdrawn. I
received now such quantities of ripe plantains that I was
able to procure an abundance of plantain-wine, an extremely
palatable and wholesome drink, which is obtained after being
allowed to ferment for twenty-four hours.
During this time Mohammed had begun to find that the
supply of provisions was growing inadequate, and that he
would find some difficulty in meeting the necessities of his
numerous bearers and of his heterogeneous caravan. He
accordingly resolved to make a division of the entire com-
pany, and to send a detachment back to Izingerria beyond
the Welle, where tliey might get corn and other supplies.
In my own case, I was obliged to do without proper bread ;
no eleusine was to be had, and I was reduced to a flat tough
cake made of manioc and plantain-meal.
As no cattle-breeding is practised among the Monbuttoo,
I should have been fastened down to a uniform diet of
vegetables if I had not happened to be aware that in the last
raid against the Momvoo a very considerable number of
goats had been driven into the country. I induced the king
to become my agent for getting me some of them, and sent
him three large copper bracelets, weighing about a pound,
for every goat that he would let me have. In this way I
gradually obtained about a dozen fat goats, and more beau-
tiful creatures of the I kind had never seen since I had left
GOATS OF THE MOMN'OO.
69
Khartoom. They were of two different breeds : one of them
was singularly like the Bongo race, which has been before
described, and which are remarkable for the long hair that
hanofs from their neck and shoulders ; the other differed
Goat ol' the iMumvoo.
from any type that I had previously seen in having an
equally-distributed drooping fleece, which serves as a covering
for its short-haired extremities, and in its nose being very
considerably arched. The ordinary colour of these graceful
animals is a uniform glossy black. They are fed almost
exclusively upon plantain leaves, a food which makes them
thrive admirably. When I had got half-a-dozen of them
together 1 had them all killed at once. I had the flesh all
taken off the bones, the sinews carefully removed, and then
made my bearers, who had no other work to do, mince it
70 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
up very fine upon some boards. The entire mass was next
thrown into great vessels and boiled ; it was afterwards
strained, and when it had got cold it was freed from all fat
and finally steamed until it was a thick jelly. The extract
of meat obtained in this way had to serve throughout our
return journey, and in the sequel proved a very remunerative
product. It was not liable to decomposition, and its keeping
so well made it an excellent resource in time of want and
postjioned the evil day of our actual suffering from hunger.
Besides the company of Mohammed Aboo Samraat, there
were two other companies that for some years had been
accustomed to carry their expeditions into the Monbuttoo
country, namely, Agahd's and that of the Poncets, which was
afterwards transferred to Ghattas. It was a matter of arrange-
ment that these should confine their operations to the eastern
districts, where Degberrg, was king. At their departure they
always left a small detachment in charge to look after their
business interests and to prevent any competition. Agahd's
and Poncet's soldiers had been left in the garrisons in the
districts that were under the control of Degberra's generals,
Kubby and Benda, and they were only too glad to embrace
the present chance (as we were only distant a two days'
journey) of coming to see their friends and acquaintance
from Khartoom and to hear the news.
To all appearance the Monbuttoo air agreed excellently with
them all, which is more than can be said of those who reside
in some of the northern Seribas. They had wives and families
in the country, and made no otlier complaint than that their
life was somewhat lonely and monotonous and their food so
different to what they had been accustomed to ; but what
the fanatical Mohammedans had most readily to avow was
that they really held the natives in admiration and respect,
notwithstanding their intense detestation of the cannibalism
which was attributed to them. Mohammed also left some of
his people in the neighbourhood of Munza ; and these strangers
AFRICAN CAUTION. 71
had permission to erect Seribas and to plant their environs
with sweet-potatoes, manioc, and plantains. Their preroga-
tive extended no further than this, and they had no authority
at all over the natives ; however small might be their number
in any place (sometimes not a score of men altogether) they
were sure to be sufBcient to restrain the inhabitants from any
attempt at surprise. The African savages are not like the
American Indians, who are always prepared to see a few of
their party killed at the outset, provided that they can only
make sure of ultimate success and can get their plunder at
last ; not that the Africans underrate the advantage thev
possess in the superiority of their numbers, nor that they
entertain too hiarh an estimate of the braverv of the Nubians
but they are conscious that no attack could be ventured
without one or two of them having to pay the penalty of
their lives. No one is ready for his own part to run the risk
of his own being the life that must fee sacrificed ; and thus it
happens that the prospect of a few deaths is sufficient to
deter them, though they might be reckoned by thousands,
from making that outbreak whicli tlieir numerical strength
miffht guarantee would be finallv successful.
As soon as Mohammed became aware that he had got to
the end of the king's store of ivory he began to think of his
ways and means, and contemplated pusliing on farther to
the south and opening a new market for himself. With the
greatest enthusiasm I entered into his design, and taking up
his cry, " To the world's end!" I added, " Now's the time,
and onward let us go!" But, unfortunately, there were
insuperable obstacles in the way. In the first place, there
was the decided opposition of the Idng, who entertained the
very natural belief that the farther progress of the Khar-
toomers to the south would interfere with his monopoly
of the copper trade ; and in the next place there was the
impossibility of Mohammed being able, without Munza's
co-operation, to procure sufficient provisions for so arduous
72 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
an undertaking. To put the former difficulty to th(3 test,
Mohammed despatched his nephew with the conduct of an
expedition just sufficiently large to venture the attampt.
For three days this expedition pressed on, until upon the
Eiver Nomayo, an affluent of the Welle, they reached the
residence of one of Munza's sub-chieftains, whose name was
Mummery. Halfway upon their route they had rested at
the dwelling-place of another chieftain, named Nooma. Both
Mummery and Nooma, it should be said, were Munza's own
brothers ; but neither of them would venture to open com-
mercial transactions of any kind without the express orders
of the king, and consequently the expedition had to return
at once and leave its object unaccomplished.
The disappointment was very keen : it was a bitter grief
to see one's most cherished projects melt thus thoroughly
away. Nor vsras it a much smaller matter of regret that
Mohammed felt himself obliged to curtail even our few weeks'
residence with Munza; he might propose, indeed, to ad-
vance to the south from the eastern portion of the Monbuttoo
country, but that was a project that was little likely to be
accomplished.
For a long period I held fast to my intention of remaining
behind alone in Munza's country with the soldiers who
would be left in charge of the Seriba ; and I indulged the
fascinating hope that I should find an opportunity of pene-
trating into that farther south which I longed so earnestly
to investigate ; but my protector would not acquiesce in this
for a moment, nor did any of my own people show an
inclination to support my wishes. It was very doubtful if
we could be relieved during the next year, or the year after,
if at all ; my resources even now were hardly enough to take
me home again ; the wherewithal for further enterprise was
altogether wanting ; if I should entrust my collection, which
1 had so laboriously gathered, to the care of others, there
was every risk of its becoming wet and even spoiled ; the
WANT OF A GOLDEN KEY. 73
prospect, too, of penetrating into the interior under the
escort of the Monbuttoo themselves was not altogether
inviting : I should only have accompanied their plundering
raids, where I should have been compelled to be a daily
witness of their cruelties and cannibalism ; thus upon serious
deliberation I was driven to the conviction that my scheme
was not feasible.
No doubt a very different vista would have opened itself
before me into the untraversed interior of the continent if
I had chanced to be one of those favoured travellers who
have unlimited command of gold. But fortune and money
appear, with regard to African travel, to stand very much
in the same relation to one another as force and time in
physics ; what you gain in one, you lose in the other.
The fortunate and healthy travellers, like Karl Mauch and
Gerhard Eohlfs, have generally been very limited in their
means; whilst rich travellers, such as the Baron von der
Decken and Miss Tinne, have succumbed to difficulties,
sickened, or died. Any expedition that was fitted out with
a liberality proportioned to that of Speke's would have been
capable of advancing from Munza's to the south, defiant of
opposition ; enough copper would have neutralised the re-
sistance of the king; if force could be opposed by force,
and threats could be met by threats, the native princes
would all declare themselves to be friends, and, like Mtesa
and Kamrasi, would meet them with open arms. But, as I
say, the resources must be adequate. With two hundred
soldiers from Khartoom, not liable to fever, and capable
of existing upon food of any sort, and who were up to all
the dodges and chicaneries of the African chieftains, any
one could penetrate as far as he chose. If I had possessed
10,000 dollars in my purse, or had them invested properly
in Khartoom, I would have guaranteed to bring my leader
on to Bornoo. The sum would have sufficed to keep his
soldiers up to their duty; and under those circumstances 1
74 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
shonM have been master of the situation, and Mohammed
would have had means to get as much ivory as he could
desire.
These intimations may suffice to show that, in my opinion,
with the aid of the Kliartoom merchant companies, access
could be had to the remotest parts of the continent without
any exorbitant outlay of money ; but conditions so favour-
able for prosecuting the work as those which then fell to my
lot, I fear may be long before they occur again.
Munza's visits made a diversion in our camp life. The
finest entertainment, however, which chanced to occur was
the celebration of the victory which Mummery had obtained
over the Momvoo. As the produce of his successful raid,
Mummery brought the due contributions of ivory, slaves,
and goats, to lay before the feet of the king, and the occasion
w-as taken to institute a festival on the grandest scale. In
consequence of Munza's establishment being already taxed
with the entertainment of so many strangers, Mummery
only stayed for a single night. The morning after his
arrival was appointed for the feast.
The early part of the day was cold and rainy ; but quite
betimes, the shouts and cheers that rang around the camp
told us that the rejoicing already had begun. Towards mid-
day the news was brought that the excitement was reaching
its climax, and that the king himself was dancing in the
presence of his numerous wives and courtiers. The weather
was still chill and drizzly ; but, putting on a long black
frock-coat as being the most appropriate costume for the
occasion, I bent my steps to the noble saloon, which re-
sounded again with the ringing echoes of uproarious cheers
and clanging music. The scene that awaited me was unique.
Within the hall there was a spacious square left free, around
which the eighty royal wives were seated in a single row
upon their little stools, having painted themselves in honour
of the occasion . with the most elaborate care : thev were
MUNZA'S DANCE. 75
applauding most vigorously, clapping their hands with all
their might. Behind the women stood an array of warriors
in full accoutrement, and their lines of lances were a frontier
of defence. Every musical accompaniment to which the
resources of the court could reach had all been summoned,
and there was a melee of gongs and kettle-drums, timbrels
and trumpets, horns and bells. Dancing there in the midst
of all, a wondrous sight, was the king himself.
Munza was as conspicuous in his vesture as he was
astounding in his movements. It is ever the delight of
African potentates on occasions of unusual pomp to present
themselves to their subjects in some new aspect. Munza's
opportunities in this way were almost unlimited, as he had
a liouse full of skins and feathers of every variety: he
had now attired his head in the skin of a great black
baboon, giving him the appearance of wearing a grenadier's
bearskin ; the peak of this was dressed up with a plume of
waving feathers. Hanging from his arms were the tails
of genets, and his wrists were encircled by great bundles of
tails of the guinea-hog. A thick apron, composed of the
tails of a variety of animals was fastened round his loins,
and a number of rings rattled upon his naked legs. But the
wonder of the king's dress was as nothing compared to his
action. His dancing was furious. His arms dashed them-
selves furiously in every direction, though always marking
the time of the music ; whilst his legs exhibited all the
contortions of an acrobat's, being at one moment stretched
out horizontally to the ground, and at the next pointed
ujiwards and elevated in the air. The music ran on in a
wild and monotonous strain, and the women raised their
hands and clapped together their open palms to mark the
time. For what length of time this dance had been going
7G THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Oil 1 did not quite understand; I only know that I found
Munza raving in the hall with all the mad excitement
which would have been worthy of the most infatuated
dervish that had ever been seen in Cairo. Moment after
moment it looked as if the enthusiast must stagger, and,
foaming at the mouth, fall down in a fit of epilepsy ; but
nervous energy seems greater in Central Africa than among
the " hashishit " of the north : a slight pause at the end ol
half an hour, and all the strength revived ; once again would
commence the dance, and continue unslackened and un-
wearied.
So thoroughly were the multitude engrossed with the
spectacle that hardly any attention at all was given to my
arrival, and a few who noticed it did not permit them-
selves to be diverted from the enjoyment of their pleasure.
I had an opportunity, therefore, of transferring the scene to
paper, and of finishing a sketch which embraces its promi-
nent features.
But above the tumult of men was heard the tumult of the
elements. A hurricane arose, with all the alarming violence
of tropical intensity. For a little while the assembly was
unmoved and disposed to take no notice of the storm ; but
soon the wdnd and pelting rain found their way into the
openings of the hall; the music ceased, the rolling drum
yielding to the thunder ; the audience in commotion rose,
and sought retreat ; and in another instant the spectacle was
over ; the dancing king was gone.
The floods of rain compelled me to remain upon the spot,
and I took advantage of the opportunity to make an undis-
turbed inspection of the other and larger hall, which was
situated just opposite to the one in which I was. A low
doorwav led into the edifit*e, which was 150 feet Ions: and
not less than fifty feet high ; it. was lighted only by narrow
apertures, and the roof was supported on five rows of columns.
On one side of it was a wooden partition which divided oli'
A VISIT FEOM THE KING. 77
from the spacious edifice a small apartment, where the king
was accustomed, according to the imperial wont of altering
the sleeping- place, occasionally to pass the night. An enor-
mous erection, ponderous enough to support an elephant,
served as a bedstead; on each side of this Avere several
posts each encircled by forged iron rings that could not
weigh less than half a hundredweight. In this royal bed-
chamber I noticed a large number of barbarous decorations,
and I observed that the pillays and the timberwork were
rudely painted with numerous geometrical designs, but that
the artists seem to have had only three colours at their
command ; blood-red, yellow-ochre, and the white from do^s'
dung {cdhum grsecum).
'MwoT.Q, twice honoured our camp with a visit. His
majesty's approach was announced long beforehand by the
outcries of the teeming people that thronged along his way.
On entering the encampment he found the German flag
waving from a tall flagstaff that I had erected in the imme-
diate proximity of my tent ; he was curious to know what it
meant, and had to be initiated into the object of a national
symbol, and to be informed of the tragical experiences of
King Theodore in Abyssinia. It was a great relief to me
that he did not require to enter either into my tent or
into a large grass-shed which had been recently erected
for me. Altogether the monarch displayed much less
covetousness than I had reason to expect. Eecognising this
moderation on his part, I endeavoured to entertain him by
showing him my collection of pictures, and amongst others
I submitted to him the one of himself in the copper habili-
ments which he had worn on the day of our first audience.
They were the only portraits he had ever seen, and his
astonishment was very great ; the play of the muscles of his
face displayed the interest he took, and, according to the
custom of the land, he opened his mouth quite wide, and
Ciwered it with his open hand, betraying thereby his surprise
78 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and admiration. I had afterwards to open my bosom for his
inspection, and when I turned up my shirt-sleeves, he cculd
not suppress a cry of amazement. The interview ended, as
such visits generally did, by his expressing a wish, wit'i
whicli I had not the least intention to comply, that I would
take off my boots.
The date of our departure was now drawing near, and yet
neither my promised chimpanzee nor guinea-hog* had
appeared. About the chimpanzee the truth was that not one
could be found in the district, which was far too densely
populated, and where the woods upon the river-banks were
very light and traversed by frequent pathways ; but with
regard to the guinea-hog it was quite different ; they "were
to be found in the nearest environs of the royal residence,
and, if only Munza had been inclined, he could have redeemed
his promise and secured me a specimen without difficulty.
He left me, consequently, to get one, if I could, for myself;
but this, to a novice in the chase, was more easily said than
done, and I had to ramble in the thickets, rifle in hand, under
the vain hope that I might secure a specimen.
Only once, and that was just when evening was coming on
to close a cloudy day, and a drizzling mist was giving obscu-
rity to the woods, I caught sight of one of these animals. Its
red bristly head and long pointed ears peered out from
behind the prostrate stem of a great tree, and I was just
concluding that it was within gunshot, wiien at the very
instant two of my native attendants were seen beside it
rolling on the ground and bleeding at the nose. My people
were not remarkable for pluck, and nothing would induce
* The Guinea-hog (Potamochcerus penicillatus) is called "Napezzo," or
"' fat," by the Monbuttoo, and its flesli is considered very choice. These
animals, which are not nearly so wild as the wart-hogs (the blabark of the
South African Boers), and are indeed capable of being partially tamed, are
found throughout the tropical regions of Africa, from the west coast to Zanzi-
bar. Burton met with them in Ugogo. In early times they were already
introduced into Brazil.
WASHING DAY.
70
them to a second venture with the beast. Thus 1 was com-
pelled to renounce my hope of getting a guinea-hog.
During the earlier hours of the morning and the later
hours of the aftarnoon, I spent the time, day after day, in
continual excursions, which enabled me to add to the novel-
ties of u?y collection. The middle of the day I devoted to the
necessary supervision of my household. The peiiodic wash-
ing day had come, and I was at a loss to find a washing-tub
that could contain the accumulated linen. Mohammed's
ingenuity came once more to my aid. He borrowed King
Munza's largest meat-dish for my use. A lordly dish it was ;
more like a truck than an article for the table. It was five
feet long, and hewn from a single block.
King Muuza's disn.
Vol. II.— 7
CHAPTER XV.
The Monbcttoo. Previous accounts of the Monbuttoo. Population. Sur-
rounding nations. Neglect of agriculture. Products of the soil. Pro-
duce of the chase. Forms of greeting. Preparation of food. Universal
cannibalism. National pride and warlike spirit. Power of the sovereign.
His habits. The royal household. Advanced culture of the Monbuttoo.
Peculiarities of race. Fair hair and complexion. Analogy to the Fulbe.
Preparation of bark. Nudity of the women. Painting of the body.
Coiffure of men and women. Mutilation not practised. Equipment of
warriors. Manipulation of iron. Early knowledge of copper. Probable
knowledge of platinum. Tools. Wood-carving. Stools and benches.
Symmetry of water-bottles. Large halls. Love of ornamental trees. Con-
ception of Supreme Being.
It was in December 1868, just before starting from Khar-
toom, that I received, in a somewhat circuitous way, the first
intelh'gence of a people called the Monbuttoo, who were said
to dwell to the south of the Niam-niam. Dr. Ori, the chief
official physician at Khartoom, in a letter to the Marquis
Antinori, had detailed all the most recent particulars of the
ivory traffic in the remote districts south of the Gazelle, and
had specially referred to the transactions of Jules Poncet.
These particulars were published without much delay in the
journal of the Geographical Association of Paris ; and I
chanced to find Dr. Ori's letter quoted entire in the Italian
Geographical Society's 'Bolletino,' which was transmitted
to me by the Marquis Antinori himself just before I was
setting out on my expedition.
Although the intelligence conveyed by Ori and Poncet
failed utterly in giving either clearness or consistency to the
confused depositions of those ignorant and uninformed men
NATIOXAL FEATURES OF THE MONBUTTOO. 81
wlio had been their authorities, it still had the intrinsic
merit of enlarging the domain of geographical knowledge by
some matters of fact which it was reserved for me individually
to confirm by my own observation. It laid down as facts,
first, that to the south of the Niam-niam territory there is a
river flowing towards the west ;* secondly, that this river is
not tributary to the Nile ; and, thirdly, that its banks are
populated by a race quite distinct from the ordinary negro
race, its inhabitants being of a brownish complexion, and
exhibiting a grade of civilization which is considerably in
advance of what is elsewhere found in Central Africa.
These people were designated by the name of the Mon-
buttoo, and by the ivory traders they were known as Gurru-
gurroo, a definition that is derived from an Arabic word
which refers to their universal habit of piercing their
ears.
No sooner had I really reached the district of the Gazelle
than I discovered from my conversation and intercourse
with the leaders of the ivory traffic that the Monbuttoo were
regarded as holding a very peculiar and prominent place.
Their country never failed to furnish a theme of general
praise. It was declared to be prolific in ivory ; it was profuse
in its natural products ; the pomp of its sovereign was
unrivalled ; but, above all, the skill of its people, in the
fabrication alike of their weapons for war and their utensils
for peace, was assumed to be so striking that they were
comparable to the denizens of the civilized west, and that in
some respects the Franks themselves did not surpass them in
the exercise of an aesthetic faculty.
That I might succeed in making my way onwards to the
territory of this problematical people, naturally became
more and more my impatient and ardent desire ; and it will
* Heuglin in 1863, had received intelligence of what was now proved, viz.
that the same district from which issues the White Nile also gives birth tu
another stream, called by him the river of Sena.
82 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
readily be understood how eagerly I recognised xVboa
Sammat as offered by a propitious fate to be the conductor
upon whom I might rely for being introduced to a closer
view of this undefined race, which might be likened in a way
to a nebula in the geographical firmament. Very much I
now rejoice at being in a position to submit, upon the evidence
of my own observation, a somewhat detailed account of this
race, who may be described as constituting a sort of remote
island of humanity. Surrounded as it is by the waves of
fluctuating nationalities, it is, as it were, an " ultima TJmle "
of geographical research ; or perhaps still more appropriately
it might be likened to a boulder thrown up from a lower
formation, and exhibiting a development of indigenous cul-
ture, entirely different to what can be witnessed all around.
The territory of the Monbuttoo, as it lies in the heart of
Africa, does not cover an area of more than 4000 square
miles, but the ratio of the census of its population is hardly
exceeded by any region of the entire continent. Estimating
the density of the people by the districts through which we
travelled, and observing that cultivated farms followed upon
cultivated farms, without a barren spot between, I suppose
that there are at least 250 inhabitants to the square mile,
which would give an aggregate population of about a million.
The position of the country is embraced very nearly between
the parallels of 3° and 4° north latitude, and 28^ and 29°
east longitude from Greenwich, To the north of the country
there is a large river, usually copious in its stream, called the
Keebaly. This is joined by the Gadda, which flows from the
south-east. After the junction it is known as the Welle,
and has a breadth of about 800 feet, whilst never, even in
the driest season, does its depth diminish to less than fifteen
feet. It proceeds to the west along the southern portion of
the adjoining Niam-niam district, and being swollen by the
accession of numerous tributaries from the southern districts
ol the Monbuttoo, it very rapidly assumes its large dimen-
MOXBUTTOO GOTEEXMEXT. 83
sious. Beyond a doubt it is the upper course of the most
easterly of the two arms which, after they have united in
Baghirmy, flow onwards under the name of the Shary, that
river to which Lake Tsad owes its existence.
There are two chieftains who, with regard to the extent of
their dominions and the numerical strength of their armed
forces (for their sway extends far beyond the populous
districts of the Monbuttoo), may well be designated as kings.
They have partitioned the sovereignty between them : the
eastern division being subject to Degberra, the western
division is governed by Munza, who exercises a much more
powerful control; he is a son of King Tikkibob, who had
once enjoyed the undivided rule over the entire Monbuttoo
land, but thirteen years previously had been mui-dered by
his brother Degberra.
Sub-chieftains or viceroys are distributed over various
sections of the country, and these are accustomed to surround
themselves with a retinue and state little inferior to those of
the kings themselves. In Munza's realms there are three
of these dignitaries ; viz. his brothers Izingerria, Mummery,
and Xooma ; subordinate to Degberra there are his four
sons, Kubby, Benda, Koopa, and Tangara.'
The country of the Xiam-niam constitutes the northern
and north-western boundaries of the Monbuttoo. This
comprises the territories of Kanna and Indimma, sons of the
once powerful Keefa, and, farther on, the district of Malingde
or Marindo, which approaches in an easterly direction iliore
towards the territory of Wando ; each of these countries are,
however, separated by wildernesses which it requires two
days to cross. The southern limits of the Monbuttoo are
enclosed, as it were., by a semicircle of typical negroes, whom
they embrace in the comprehensive detinition of '' Momvoo,"
a disdainful epithet implying the extremity of their degra-
dation. From this category we are possibly called upon to
exclude in this quarter (as perchance in every other region
84 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
of Africa) those isolated races of dwarfs, familiarly known as
" Pygmies," of which the Akka, who reside in the S.S.W.,
and have their abodes close to the confines of the kingdom
of Munza, may be quoted as examples. The bulk of this
apparently thickly-peopled race is subject to independent
chieftains, but there is one section Avhich is tributary to
Munza in so far as this, that it makes its contributary
payments to Mummery, as being Munza's vicegerent.
According to the depositions of some Nubians who have
been stationed for some years past in the Monbuttoo country,
the language of the Babuckur is found to be spoken among
the Momvoo. To support their opinion the Nubians affirm
that women-slaves brought from Babuckur have always been
found able to converse with the natives of the land just to
the south of the Monbuttoo ; a circumstance which is not
without its signification as explaining the most recent
migration of nations into this part of Africa. Since the two
enclaves of Babuckur on the eastern boundaries of the Niam-
niani appear only to be removed from each other by an
interval of sixty miles and to be hemmed in by hostile
neighbours, the fact, taken in connection with the above,
may serve to dercionstrate that Monbuttoo and Niam-niam
alike must have been advancing in an easterly direction.
Munza's neighbours towards the south-west and south of
the kingdom of Kanna are the Mabohde. This is a people
whom Keefa, Kanna's father (known also as Ntikkima), was
accilstomed to harass in war till he met with his own death.
Farther on towards the S.S.W., and separated from Munza
by the Mabohde and the Akka, there lies the district of the
Massanza, a tribe which is held in subjection by the formid-
able hand of Kizzo. To the south and south-east are found
the Nemeigeh, the Bissangah, and the Domondoo, tenanting
a mountainous region, which not improbably is the western
declivity of that important mountainous formation to which
Baker, in describing the north-west of Lake Mwootau, has
THE MONBUTTOO TERRITORY. 85
referred under the name of the Blue Mountains. The settle-
ments of the Domondoo are the usual limits to which the
Monbuttoo are accustomed to carry their plundering expedi-
tions. Some Nubian soldiers who had been quartered in the
country of Munza, and who had accompanied him in some
of his marauding exploits have given a description of the
general mountainous character of the land, and, moreover,
have asserted that goats, which are known neither to the
Niam-niam nor to the Monbuttoo, have been captured there
in great numbers. The Babuckur also, notwithstanding the
frequent incursions which their neighbours, ever greedy of
animal diet, have made upon their over-populated and
oppressed communities, are always found in possession of
herds of goats so numerous that they might be described as
inexhaustible. Many days' journey to the south and south-
east of Munza's realms are tlie abodes of the Maoggoo, over
whom a powerful sovereign exercises his authority, and who
seems to have various transactions with Munza, if I may
judge from the splendid cattle which had been sent him as a
present. Maoggoo is not improbably the same as Malegga,
the appellation of a people, which appears in Baker's map to
the west of the Blue Mountains in an extensive country
(Ulegga), of which it is affirmed that the king is named
Kadjoro, and that the population is especially devoted to the
breeding of cattle.
Having thus minutely taken a survey of the surroundings
of the Monbuttoo, we may in the next place proceed to
observe the land itself, regarding it as the substance of the
picture of which we have been thus accurately surveying
the background.
The Monbuttoo land greets us as an Eden upon earth.
Unnumbered groves of plantains bedeck the gently-heaving
soil; oii-palms, incomparable in beauty, and other monarchs
of the stately woods, rise up and spread their glory over
tlie favoured scene; along the streams there is a briglit
86 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
expanse of charming verdure, whilst a grateful shadow ever
overhangs the domes of the idyllic huts. The general
altitude of the soil ranges from 2500 to 2800 feet above
the level of the sea : it consists of alternate depressions,
along which the rivulets make their way, and gentle
elevations, which gradually rise till they are some hundred
feet above the beds of the streams below. Upon the whole
the soil may be described as far more diversified in character
than what is observed in the eastern parts of the Niam-
niam land. Like it is there, it is rich in springs, wherever
there are depressions, and in a network of " desaguaderos "
associated with the watercourses, and justifies the comparison
that has already been suggested between the entire land and
a well-soaked sponge, which yields countless streams to the
pressure of the hand. Belonging to one of the most recent
formations, and still in process of construction, the ferru-
ginous swamp-ore is found very widely diffused over the
Monbuttoo country, and indeed extends considerably farther
to the south, so that the red earth appears to be nearly
universal over the greater part of the highlands of Central
Africa. The denser population has involved, as might be
expected, more frequent clearances for the sake of establish-
ing plantain groves, and promoting the culture of maize and
sugar-canes, but even here in the deeper valleys trees grow
to such a prodigious height, and exhibit such an enormous
girth, that they could not be surpassed by any that could be
found throughout the entire Nile region of the north. Be-
neath the imposing shelter of these giants other forms grow
up and, rising one above another, stand in mingled confusion.
In its external and general aspect the country corresponds
with the description which Speke has given of Uganda ; but
the customs of the inhabitants of that land, their difference
of race, and their seclusion from all intercourse with com-
mercial nations stamp them as being of a type which is of
a very contrasted character.
MONBUTTOO PRODUCE. 87
It seems almost to involve a contradiction to give the title
of agriculturists to a people whose existence indeed depends
upon the easy securing of fruits and tubers, but who abhor
the trouble of growing cereals. Sorghum and penicillaria,
which are the common food of the population in nearly the
whole of Central Africa, are absolutely uncared for amongst
the Monbuttoo; eleusine is only grown occasionally, and
maize, which is known as " Nendoh," is cultivated quite as
an exception in the immediate proximity of their dwellings,
where it is treated as a garden vegetable. The growth of
their plantain (Musa sapientium) gives them very little
trouble ; the young shoots are stuck in the ground after it
has been slackened by the rain ; the old plants are suffered
to die down just as they are ; and this is all the cultivation
that is vouchsafed. In the propagation of these plantains,
however, the Monbuttoo have a certain knack of discrimi-
nation for which they might be envied by any EurojDean
gardener : they can judge whether a young shoot is capable
of bearing fruit or not, and this gives them an immense ad-
vantage in selecting only such shoots as are'worth the trouble
of planting. They are not accustomed to bestow any greater
amount of attention to the planting either of the tubers of
their manioc (or cassava), their sweet-potatoes, their yams
(neggoo), or their colocasise. A very limited range of plants
embraces the whole of what they take the pains to cultivate,
and that cultivation is all accomplished in the narrowest
bounds. The entire produce is summed up in their sesame
(mbellemoh), their earth-nuts, their sugar-canes, and espe-
cially their tobacco. The Virginian tobacco is the only kind
which is seen ; it is called Eh Tobboo, its name betraying its
American origin. The Nicotiana rustica, which is of such
constant growth amongst the Bongo, Dyoor, and Dinka, is
here entirely unknown.
Very little care, moreover, is given to the sugar-cane,
which may be found amid the thinned woods that line the
88 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
banks of the rivers. It is grown only as a sort of delicacy,
beiug found nowhere in any great quantity, and its quality is
far from good. One ever-thriving supply, which is of the
utmost importance for maintaining the population, is pro-
vided in all the valleys by the cassava {Manihot utilissima) ;
but the cultivation of the sweet-potato, equally extensive as
it is, demands a somewhat more careful attention, requiring
the sunny soil of the upper slopes of the valleys above the
line of the plantain groves and nearest to the edge of the
depressions. Both sweet-potatoes and cassava here attain
the very fullest standard of perfectiou, as far as regards
either size or quality. But the staple food is the plantain.
This is generally gathered in a green condition, dried, ground
into meal, and boiled to a pulp ; occasionally, but not so
often, it is dried after it is ripe for the purpose of being kept
for a longer time. Very few countries of the world have a
soil and atmosphere so favourable as these for insuring the
abundant produce of this serviceable plant. The fruit when
dried is a very choice delicacy, but any fermented drink
made from plantains I found to be almost unknown among
the Monbuttoo.
Owing to the thorough isolation in which the Monbuttoo
have lived, holding no intercourse with Mohammedan or
Christian nations, the art of weaving has not found its way
amongst them, and woven material .is consequently nowhere
to be seen. Their clothing, as in many other regions of
Central Africa, is contributed by their fig-trees {U7'ostigrma
KotscJiyana), of which the bast from the bark, with the help
of some strings and shreds, is worked into a substantial and
enduring fabric. Hardly a hut can be seen that is without
its own fig-trees, which, however, will not grow without due
care and cultivation. The people are never known to wear
skins attached to their girdles after the fashion of the Niam-
niam ; the only occasion when skins are worn being ^\ hen
they are made into a fancy dress for dancers.
MONBUTTOO HUNTING. 89
On tlie south of the Welle there is a very extensive culti-
vation of the oil-palm {Elais guineends). It is a tree that,
although common to the west coasts, has not hitherto been
found in the Nile districts, and consequently, like the cola-
.uuts, which the wealthier of the Monbuttoo are accustomed
to chew, it yields a significant evidence of the western asso-
ciations of the people.
Eveiy kind of cattle-breeding is quite unfamiliar to them ;
and if the common little dogs known as the " nessy " of the
Niam-niam breed be excepted, and no account be taken of
their poultry (" naahle "), the Monbuttoo may be said to be
absolutely without domestic animals at all. In a half tame
state they keep, as I have said, the potamochoerus, which is
their only representative of the swine family. From the
marauding excursions with which they harass their southern
neighbours they bring back a prodigious number of goats,
but they make no attempt to rear them for themselves.
Their hunting expeditions supply them with meat enough
for their requirements, their taste leading them to give the
preference to the flesh of elephants, buffaloes, wild boars,
and the larger kinds of antelopes. Although the denseness
of the population precludes any such increase of game of
this kind as is universal in the more northern and less
cultivated regions of Central Africa, yet the yield of theh
chase would be adequate for their own wants, because the
abundance of their supply at certain seasons is very great,
and they have the art of preserving it so that it remains fit
for food for a very considerable time. With this fact capable
of being substantiated, it is altogether a fallacy to pretend to
represent that the Monbuttoo are driven to cannibalism
through the lack of ordinary meat. To judge from Munza's
accumulated store of ivory, which is the result of the com-
bined exploits of all the men in his dominions capable of
bearing arms, the provision of elephant's meat alone must
be sufficient to keep his people amply supplied. Nor should
90 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the immense quantity of poultry be forgotten, as there is
hardly a dwelling that is not conspicuous for having a con-
siderable stock, in the same way as dogs are an especial
subject of interest amongst the Niam-niam, who have a very
decided partiality for the flesh of that animal.
A bird very common in the Monbuttoo lands is the grey
parrot (Psittacus erythacus), which is very eagerly sought by
the natives, who not only adorn their heads with the bright
red. feathers from its tail, but have a great relish for its
savoury flesh. Other sport in the way of birds is very incon-
siderable, guinea-fowls, francolins, and bustards being all
caught by means of snares. The herb Tephrosia Vogelii* is
cultivated in nearly all the villages for the purpose of
poisoning fish, and the fish that is thus secured forms a very
considerable addition to the supply of food.
Whilst the women attend to the tillage of the soil and the
gathering of the harvest, the men, except they are absent
either for war or hunting, spend the entire day in idleness.
In the early houi's of the morning they may be found under
the shade of the oil-palms, lounging at full length upon their
carved benches and smoking tobacco. During the middle of
the day they gossip with their friends in the cool halls, which
serve for general concourse, where they may be seen gesticu-
lating vigorously to give full force to their sentiments. The
action of the Monbuttoo ia speaking exhibits several singu-
larities, as, for example, their manner of expressing astonish-
ment by putting their hand before their open mouth, very
much in the same way as a person does when he is gaping.
It has been said that the North American Indians have the
habit of showing their surprise in the same way.
Smiths' work, of course, is done by the men, but, just as in
most other parts of Africa, the pottery is exclusively made by
* A kindred plant of this genus is used in the West Indies, where the
practico is generally carried on by slaves.
MONBUTTO) WOMEN. 91
the women. Wood-carving and basket-weaving are per-
formed indifferently by either sex. Musical instruments are
not touched by the women.
The universal form of salutation consists in holding out
the right hand, and saying, " Gassiggy," and at the same time
cracking the joints of the middle fingers.
The two sexes conduct themselves towards each other with
an excessive freedom. The women in this respect are very
different to the modest and retiring women of the Niam-
niam, and are beyond measure obtrusive and familiar.
Their inquisitiveness was a daily nuisance : they watched
me into the depth of the woods, they pestered me by flock-
ing round my tent, and it Avas a difficult matter to get a
bath without being stared at. Towards their husbands they
exhibit the highest degree of independence. The position
in the household occupied by the men was illustrated by the
reply which would be made if they were solicited to sell
anything as a curiosity, " Oh, ask my wife : it is hers."
Polygamy is unlimited. The daily witness of the Nubians
only too plainly testified that fidelity to the obligations of
marriage was little known. Not a few of the women were
openly obscene. Their general demeanour surprised me
very much when I considered the comparative advance of
their race in the arts of civilization. Their immodesty far
surpassed anything that 1 had observed in the very lowest of
the negro tribes, and contrasted most unfavourably with the
sobriety of the Bongo women, who are submissive to their
husbands and yet not servile. The very scantiness of the
clothing of the Monbuttoo women has no excuse.
Carved benches are the ordinary seats of the men, but the
women generally use stools that have but one foot. On
the occasion of paying a visit or going to a public gather-
ing the men make their slaves carry their benches for them,
as it is their custom never to sit upon the ground, not even
when it has been covered with mats.
92 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
The care that is given to the preparation of their food is
very considerable, and betokens their higher grade of culture.
The unripe produce of the plantain and the manioc, that
in all districts is ready at their hand without the trouble of
cultivation, make good the deficiency of corn. Their mode
of treating manioc is precisely the same as that which is
adopted in South America for the purpose of extracting the
fine flour called tapioca. For spices they make use of the
capsicum, the malaghetta pepper, and the fruit of two
hitherto unspecified Solanese, and for which I regret that I
cannot select the name of S. anthroj^ojphagorum, because it has
been already assigned to the "cannibal salad" of the Fiji
Islanders. The flavour of both these is very revolting, having
a detestable twang, something between a tomato and a
melongena. Mushrooms are also in common use for the
preparation of their sauces.
All their food is prepared by the admixture of oil from
the oil-palms. In its unpurified condition when first ex-
pressed from the pods, this oil is of a bright red colour, and
of a somewhat thick consistency ; for a few days it has an
agreeable taste, which, however, soon passes off and leaves a
decided rankness. By subsequently submitting the kernels
to fire, a coarse, inflammable oil is obtained, which is used
for the purpose of lighting their huts. Other vegetable oils
in considerable abundance are obtained from earth-nuts,
from sesame, and from the fruit of a forest-tree, Lophira
alata. From the fat thick bodies of the male white ants
they boil out a greasy substance which is bright and trans-
parent, and has a taste perfectly unobjectionable.
But of most universal employment amongst them is human
fat, and this brings our observations to the climax of their
culinary practices. The cannibalism of the Monbuttoo is the
most pronounced of all the known nations of Africa. Sur-
rounded as they are by a number of people who are blacker
than themselves, and who, being inferior to them in culture,
MONBUTTOO CANNIBALISE!. 93
are consequently held in great contempt, they have just the
opportunity which they want for carrying on expeditions of
war or plunder, which result in the acquisition of a booty,
which is especially coveted by them, consisting of human
flesh. The carcases of all who fall in battle are distributed
upon the battle-field, and are prepared by drying for trans-
port to the homes of the conquerors. They drive their
prisoners before them without remorse, as butchers would
drive sheep to the shambles, and these are only reserved to
fall victims on a later day to their -horrible and sickening
greediness. During our residence at the court of Munza the
general rumour was quite current that nearly every day
some little child was sacrificed to supply his meal. It
would hardly be expected that many opportunities should
be afforded to strangers of witnessing the natives at their
repast, and to myself there occurred only two instances
when I came upon any of them whilst they were actually
engaged in preparing human flesh for consumption. The
first of these happened by my coming unexpectedly upon
a number of young women who had a supply of boiling
water upon the clay floor in front of the doorway of a hut,
and were engaged in the task of scalding the hair off the
lower half of a human body. The operation, as far as it was
effected, had changed the black skin into a fawny grey, and
the disgusting sight could not fail to make me think of the
soddening and scouring of our fatted swine. On another
occasion I was in a hut and observed a human arm hanging
over the fire, obviously with the design of being at once dried
and smoked.
Incontrovertible tokens and indirect evidences of the
prevalence of cannibalism were constantly turning up at
every step we took. On one occasion Mohammed and
myself were in Munza's company, and Mohammed de-
signedly turned the conversation to the topic of human
flesh, and put the direct question to the king how it hap-
94 THE HEART OF AFEICA.
pened that just at this precise time while we were in the
country there was no consumption of human food. Munza
expressly said that being aware that such a practice was
held in aversion by us, he had taken care that it should only
be carried on in secret.
As I have said, there was no opportunity for strangers to
observe the habits of the Monbuttoo at their meals ; the
Bongo and Mittoo of our caravan were carefully excluded
by them as being uncircumcised, and therefore reckoned as
" savages ; " whilst the religious scruples of the Nubians
prevented them from even partaking of any food in common
with cannibals. Nevertheless the instances that I have men-
tioned are in themselves sufficient to show that the Monbuttoo
are far more addicted to cannibalism than their hunting
neighbours, the Niam-niam. They do not constitute the
first example of anthropophagi who are in a far higher
grade of culture than many savages who persistently re-
pudiate the enjoyment of human flesh (for example, the
Fiji Islanders and the Caraibs). It is needless for me to
recount the personal experiences of the Nubian mercenaries
who have accompanied the Monbuttoo on their marauding
expeditions, or to describe how these people obtain their
human fat, or again to detail the processes of cutting the
flesh into long strips and drying it over the fire in its pre-
paration for consumption. The numerous skulls now in the
Anatomical Museum in Berlin are simply the remains of
their repasts which I purchased one after another for bits
of copper, and go far to prove that the cannibalism of the
Monbuttoo is unsurpassed by any nation in the world. But
with it all, the Monbuttoo are a noble race of men; men
who display a certain national pride, and are endowed with
an intellect and judgment such as few natives of the African
wilderness can boast ; men to whom one may put a reason-
able question, and who wall return a reasonable answer. The
Nubians can never say enough in praise of their faithfulness
A MONBUTTOO AMAZOX. 95
in friendly intercourse and of the order and stability of their
national life. According to the Nubians, too, the Monbuttoo
were their superiors in the arts of war, and I often heard the
resident soldiers contending with their companions and say-
ing, " Well, perhaps you are not afraid of the IMonbuttoo, but
1 confess that I am ; and I can tell you they are something
to be afraid of."
As matter of fact the Khartoom traders, some years before,
had had a definite trial of arms wnth the Monbuttoo. Shortly
after his accession to power, Munza had of his own accord
and by a special embassy invited Aboo Sammat to extend
his transactions beyond their present limits in Nganye's and
Wando's territories ; but in the year previous to that, the
Nubian merchant Abderahman Aboo Guroon, having en-
deavoured to penetrate from Keefa's dominions into the
Monbuttoo lands, was attacked on the north of the Welle
by the IMonbuttoo forces, who opposed his advances upon
their territory. At that time jMunza's father, Tikkiboh,
had absolute rule in the country, and the achievements of
his daughter Nalengbe, a sister of the present king, are still
fresh in the memory of all who were present at the engage-
ment ; eye-witnesses gave me detailed accounts of the exploits
of this veritable Amazon, whom I have mentioned before,
and related how, in full armour, with shield and lance, and
girded with the rokko apron of a man, she had with the
utmost bravery led on the Monbuttoo troops, who then for
the first time came in contact with firearms; and how her
exertions were attended with a complete success, the adven-
turous Aboo Guroon being repulsed with considerable loss,
and forced to relinquish altogether his design of entering
the country. In the following year, 1867, Mohammed Aboo
Sammat, invited as I have said by the king himself, crossed
the Welle and entered the land, thus, as the first explorer,
opening the ivory trafiic under conditions of peace, which
have ever since remained undisturbed.
Vol. II.— 8
96 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
The Monbnttoo potentates enjoy far higher prerogatives
than the Niam-niam princes. Besides the monopoly of the
ivory, they claim regular contributions from the products of
the soil. In addition to his special body-guard, the sovereign
is always surrounded by a large body of courtiers, whilst an
immense number of civil officers and local overseers main-
tain the regal dignity in the various districts of the land.
Munza's three brothers, Izingerria, Mummery, and Nooma,
perform the office of viceroys, and subordinate to these again
are sub-chieftains of the second rank, who act as governors of
provinces.
Next in rank to the sub-chieftains, who are generally
chosen from the numerous members of the blood-royal, are
the principal officers of state. These are five in number :
the keeper of the weapons, the master of the ceremonies, the
superintendent of the commissariat stores, the master of the
household to the royal ladies, and the interpreter for inter-
course with strangers and foreign rulers.
Munza never leaves his residence without being accom-
panied by several hundred of his retinue, and, in token of
his dignity, a long array of drummers, trumpeters, and
couriers with great iron bells aro sent at the head of the
procession. The harem, in the immediate vicinity of the
palace, consists of eighty young ladies, who, with theii-
attendant women slaves, occupy as many huts erected in
a wide circuit within the precincts of the royal halls and
private apartments. Enclosed by these huts is a smooth
and ample space, where the well-trodden red soil offers a
fine contrast to the deep green foliage of the groups of oil-
palms, bread-fruit trees, cordise, trumpet-trees, urostigmae,
and other trees by which it is overshadowed. Munza holds
his councils in the great halls, and on appointed days grants
audiences, and occasionally gives one of the extensive feasts,
accompanied by music and dancing, such as I have already
described.
THE ROYAL WIVES. 97
The royal ladies are divided, according to age and seniority,
into several classes. The elder matrons occupy villages
built for their accommodation at some distance from the
residence; their number amounts to several hundred, for,
besides his own wives of the first and second rank, Munza
is bound to maintain the ladies inherited from his father,
and even those belonging to a deceased brother. It is a
long-established African custom that at a king's death his
wives should fall to the lot of his successor, who never fails
to annex to their number a large addition of his own. In
the sixteenth century the \\ives of the King of Loango were
estimated at 7000.
Whenever at night the king leaves his private apartments
to visit his wives, the place re-echoes with the shouts of the
courtiers, accompanied by the strains of horns and kettle-
drums, and then, too, may be heard the Monbuttoo hymn,
" Ee, ee, Munza, tchuppy, tchuppy, ee." Eye-witnesses state
that the king spends his night in passing from one hut to
another, and without favouring any with an especially long
visit ; but it is all done in the strictest incognito and under
cover of the darkness. Besides the courtiers, the royal
household contains many officials appointed to some pecu-
liar functions; there are the private musicians, trumpeters
and buglers, whose productions testify to the time and labour
spent upon their acquirement ; there are eunuchs and jesters,
ballad-singers and dancers, who combine to increase the splen-
dour of the court, and to provide general amusement for the
festal gatherings. In addition to these there are numbers of
stewards, who keep order at the feasts and, by a free use
of their rods, restrain the over-obtrusiveness of the younger
portion of tlie community.
The king's private residence consists of a group of several
large huts, each of which is set apart for one of his daily
occupations. They are enclosed, like a Seriba, with a pali-
sade, and are shaded by plantations of well-kept trees. The
98 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
king's food is always prepared by one of his wives, who
perform the office in turn, relieving one an other at stated
intervals. Munza invariably takes his meals in private ; no
one may see the contents of his dish, and everything that he
leaves is carefully thrown into a pit set apart for that pur-
pose. All that the king has handled is held as sacred, and
may not be touched ; and a guest, though of the highest
rank, may not so much as light his pipe with an ember from
the fire that burns before his throne. Any similar attempt
AV'ould be considered as high treason and punished with
immediate death.
As permission was granted me to inspect the internal
arrangements of the royal palace, I was enabled to survey
the whole series of huts. The king's wardrobe alone occupied
several apartments. In one room I saw nothing but hats
and feathers of every variety, special value being laid upon
the red parrot's feathers, which are arranged in great round
tufts. One hut there was in which were suspended whole
bundles of the tails of civets, genets, potamochoeri, and
giraffes, together with skins and thousands of the ornaments
with which the king was accustomed to adorn his person.
I observed also long strings of the teeth of rare animals
captured in the chase. One ornament alone, composed of
more than a hundred lions' fangs, must have been a costly
heirloom to be handed on from father to son. For the first
time I noticed the skin of the Galago Demidoffi, an animal
hitherto only observed in Western Africa.
A little conical hut that I was shown was set apart for
the privacy of the royal retiring-room, the only one of the
kind that I came across in Central Africa. The internal
arrangements of this corresponded exactly with what is
seen in Turkish dwelling-houses. The heathen negroes are
generally more observant of decorum in this respect than
any Mohammedan.
On another occasion I was conducted through the armoury.
MONBUTTOO CIVILIZATION. 99
The store of weapons consisted principally of lances tied up
in bundles of two or three hundred together, which in times
of war are distributed amongst the fighting force ; there are
also piles of the knives and daggers which are borne by Mon-
buttoo warriors. In the same place were kept the orna-
mental weapons which are used for decorating the royal halls
on festal occasions, consisting for the most part of immense
spears, formed head and shaft alike of pure copper, and
brightly polished.
The storehouses and corn-magazines were provided with
well-qaade, water-tight roofs, and Munza spends a portion of
every day in the several sections, personally superintending
the distribution and arrangement of the stores.
From these details it may be understood that the Monbuttoo
are subject to a monarchical government of an importance
beyond the average of those of Central Africa; and in its
institutions it appears to correspond with the descriptions of
negro empires long since passed away. The half mythical
empire of the powerful Mwata Yanvo, whose influence doubt-
less extended to the Monbuttoo lands, may probably, to a
certain extent, have furnished the type for many of these,
institutions ; but be that as it may, it is an indisputable fact,
that of all the known nations of Central Africa the Monbuttoo,
without any influence from the Mohammedan or Christian
world, have attained to no contemptible degree of external
culture, and their leading characteristics prove th^em to
belong to a group of nations which inhabit the inmost heart
of Africa, and which are being now embraced in the enlarg-
ing circle of geographical knowledge. The land of the
Manuyema, visited by Livingstone, and the states of Mwata
Yanvo, frequented by the Portuguese traders, form re-
spectively the south-western and south-eastern limits of this
immense territory, which in area surpasses half of European
Russia.
In turning to the national characteristics of this people,
100 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
we may notice in the first place that their complexion is of a
lighter tint than that of almost all the known nations of
Central Africa, the colour of whose skins may be generally
compared, by the test I have frequently adopted, to that of
ground cofiee. It is this peculiai'ity that forms a great dis-
tinction between the Monbuttoo and the Niam-niam, whose
complexions are more aptly compared to cakes of chocolate
or ripe olives. It cannot fail to strike the traveller as
remarkable that in all African nations he meets with indi-
viduals with black, red, and yellow complexions, whilst the
yellow tribes of Asia and the copper-coloured tribes of
America each present a remarkable uniformity in the tone
and shade of their skins. Barth observed this peculiarity
among the Marghi ; he noticed some individuals who were
quite black, and others who had coppery-red skins, or, as he
describes them, rhubarb-coloured, in distinction to those
which he compared to chocolat-au-lait. His supposition that
an intermingling of races was the sole cause of this diversity of
complexion is probably incorrect, as it appears to be a charac-
teristic of the entire series of the red-skinned races of Africa.
« The Monbuttoo have less fulness of muscle than the Niam-
niam, without, however, any appearance of debility. The
growth of the hair is much the same, and the beard is much
more developed than that of the Niam-niam.
But there is one special characteristic that is quite peculiar
to the Monbuttoo. To judge from the hundreds who paid
visits of curiosity to my tent, and from the thousands whom
[ saw during my three weeks' sojourn with Munza, I should
say that at least five per cent, of the population have light
hair. This was always of the closely frizzled quality of the
negro type, and was always associated with the lightest skins
that I had seen since leaving Lower Egypt. Its colour was
by no means like that which is termed light hair amongst
ourselves, but was of a mongrel tint mixed with grey, sug-
gesting the comparison to hemp. All the individuals who
PHYSIOLOGICAL SPECULATION. 101
had this light hair and complexion had a sickly expression
about the eyes, and presented many signs of pronounced
albinism ; they recalled a description given by Isaac Vossius,
in his book upon the origin of the Nile, of the white men he
saw at the court of the King of Loango : he says that " they
were sickly-looking and wan of countenance, with their eyes
drawn as though they were squinting." In the previous
chapter I have given a similar description of one of the king's
sons, named Bunza. This combination of light hair and skin
gives the Monbuttoo a position distinct from all the nations
of the northern part of Africa, with the single exception of
the various inhabitants of Morocco, amongst whom fair-
haired individuals are far from uncommon.
It has been already observed that in the physiognomical
form of the skull the Monbuttoo in many ways recall the
type of the Semitic tribes ; and they differ from the ordinary
run of negroes in the greater length and curve of the "nose.
All these characteristics betoken an affinity with the Fulbe,
and as such the Monbuttoo may probably be included amongst
the " Pyrrhi ^thiopes " of Ptolemy. This would, however,
be but a vague supposition if it were not supported by the
fact that the Fulbe are of eastern origin, although in later
times a portion of them have made a retrogade movement
from Senegal towards the east. It must be understood that
I do not intend by these remarks to offer a bridge for carry-
ing over Eichwaldt's theory of tlie affinity of the Fulbe with
the Malays, nor do I intend by such a national migration to
add a new link to what he declares to be accomplished in
the case of Meroe. Barth considers these Fulbe to be the
issue of a double cross, a cross between the Arabs and people
of Barbary on the one hand and the people of Barbary and
the negroes on the other. This hypothesis, I believe, would
also hold good for the Monbuttoo ; but altogether it is a
question too vague to be capable of being here discussed
with any justice.
102 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
On aciouut of the loss of tlie specimens of the Monbuttoo
dialect, which I had been at great pains to collect by means
of a double interpretation, I am unfortunately not in a posi-
tion to give much information about the dialect ; this much,
however, I can confidently assert, that it is a branch of the
great African language-stock north of the equator, the
*^reater number of the words belonging to the Nubio-Lybian
group.
Still more than in the colour of their skin do the Mon-
Ijuttoo differ from the neighbouring nations in dress and
liabits. This appears to be a land where costume is a settled
matter of rule, for the uniformity of attire is as complete as
it is rapidly becoming under the sway of fashion in all classes
uf our civilized communities.
Weaving is an art unknown to the Monbuttoo, and their
only material for clothing is obtained from their fig-tree
(TJrokigma Fotschyana), the bark of which is found to be in
a condition most serviceable for the purpose when the trunk
of the tree is about as thick as a man's body ; the stem is
then peeled in rather a remarkable manner : two circular
incisions, four or five feet apart, are made right round the
trunk, and the bark is removed entire ; strange to say, this
does no harm to the tree, and in a very short time a peculiar
growth or granulation takes place along the edge of the
upper incision in the form of little fibres, which gradually
ilescend along the bare cambium or sap-wood, until the
tree is once more clothed with a fresh layer of bast. The
only explanation that can be offered for this unusual growth
is, that in peeling off the bark the entire layer of bast is
not removed, but that some portion of it is left hanging to
the wood and retains its vitality.* In the course of three
years the fresh growth is complete, and the bark is in a con-
* Livingstone observed a similar new LTOwth of bark on the trunk of tlie
Baobab {Adansonia), from which the Matabele obtain material for curd.
ROKKO-TREES.
103
dition to be again removed ; apart from tbis pro|)erty, the
rearino^ of these rokko-trees would not compensate the natives
for the trouble of planting them.
The rokko bark has a certain resemblance to the lime-bast,
which is so important an article of commerce in Russia ; its
fibres, however, have not the smoothness and paper-like
Monbuttoo Warriors.
104 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
thinness of the Kiissian product, but are tangled together
almost like a woven mass. By a partial maceration and a
good deal of thrashing, the Monbuttoo contrive to give the
bark the appearance of a thick close fabric, which, in its
rough condition, is of a grey colour, but after being soaked
iu a decoction of wood acquires a reddish-brown hue, some-
thing like ordinary woollen stuff. Fastened at the waist
with a girdle, one of these pieces of bark is sufficient to
clothe the body, from the breast downwards to the knees,
with a very effective substitute for drapery. Eepresentations
of two Monbuttoo warriors in full array are given iu the
illustration on the preceding page.
The women go almost entirely unclothed ; they wear
nothing but a portion of a plantain leaf or a piece of bark
about the size of their hand attached to the front of their
girdle ; the rest of the body being figured in laboured
patterns by means of a black juice obtained from the Blippo
(Eandia mallei/era). Whilst the Dinka women, leaving
perfect nudity as the prerogative of their husbands, are
modestly clothed with skins — whilst the Mittoo and Bongo
women wear their girdle of foliage, and the Niam-niam
women their apron of hides, the women of the Monbuttoo —
where the men are more scrupulously and fully clothed
than any of the nations that I came across throughout my
journey — go almost entirely naked.
Whenever the women go out, they carry across their arm
a strap which they lay across their laps on sitting down.
These straps or scarfs are about a foot wide, and something
like a saddle-girth, and as they form their first attempt in
the art of weaving, their texture is of the clumsiest order,
possessing no other recommendation than their durability ;
they are appropriated to the further use of fastening infants
to their mothers' backs.
The women can be distinguished from one another by the
different tattooed figures running in bands across the breast
TATTOOING OF THE WuMEN.
105
Monbuttoo Woman.
and back along the shoulders ; their bodies, moreover, are
painted with an almost inexhaustible variety of patterns.
Stars and Maltese crosses, bees and flowers, are all enlisted
as designs; at one time the entire body is covered with
stripes like a zebra, and at another with irregular spots and
dots like a tiger; I have seen these women streaked with
veins like marble, and even covered with squares like a
chess-board. At the great festivals every Monbuttoo lady
endeavours to outshine her compeers, and accordingly applies
all her powers of invention to the adornment of her person.
The patterns last for about two days, when they are carefully
rubbed off, and replaced by new designs.
Instead of this paint the men use a cosmetic prepared
from pulverised cam-wood, which is mixed with fat and then
rubbed over the whole body. The Niam-niam also make use
of this powder, but they only apply it partially in irregular
106 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
spots and stripes, delighting especially in staining the breast
and face to increase the ferocity of their appearance.
The coiffure of both sexes is alike ; the hair of the top
and back of the head is mounted up into a long cylindrical
chignon, and being fastened on the inside by an arrange-
ment made of reeds, slopes backwards in a slanting direction.
Across the forehead, from temple to temple, the hair is twisted
in thin tresses, which lie one above another, closely iitting
the skull until they reach the crown of the head. Their
own hair is rarely long enough to form this portion of the
liead-gear, but the deficiency is supplied from the heads of
those who have fallen in war, or, since hair is an article ol
traffic in the country, it is procured from the market. On
the top of their chignon, the men wear the cylindrical
straw-hats so often referred to. These are without brims,
square at the top and circular at the base, and are
adorned either with the tufts of red parrots' feathers that I
have described in connection with Munza's wardrobe,* or
with the long feathers of eagles and falcons. The hats, of
course, follow the slanting directions of the chignon, and fall
back diagonally to the head, and altogether the head-gear is
remarkably similar to that worn by the Ishogo women in
Western Africa. The Monbuttoo women wear no hat on
their chignon, which is merely adorned with little hair-pins
attached to combs made of the quills of the porcupines.
These details may suffice to give a fair notion of the
external appearance of the Monbuttoo, and if I add that
their only mutilation of the body consists in boring the inner
muscle of the ear for the purpose of inserting a bar about the
size of a cigar, I shall have described all the fashions in
vogue, from which no individual is at liberty to make marked
deviation. They neither break out their lower incisor teeth,
* In tlie woodcut which represents Munza in full dress, the king has one of
these clusters of feathers in his hat.
MONBUTTOO WEAPONS.
10<
like the black nations on the northern river plains, nor do
they file them to points, like the Niam-niam , neither do they
imitate the Bongo and Mittoo women in the hideous perfora-
tion of their lips ; and I repeat that, if we except circum-
cision (which, according to the accounts of all the heathen
negroes of equatorial Africa, is a custom they have received
from their remote ancestors), this piercing of the ear is the
. one disfigurement of nature adopted by the Monbuttoo. On
account of this practice the Khartoomers have conferred
upon them the title of " Gurrugurroo," i.e. " pierced," in con-
tradistinction to the Niam-niam in general, Niam-niam being,
as I have said, the term used by the inhabitants of the Soudan
for all cannibals, irrespective of their various nationalities.
The weapons of the Monbuttoo warriors are very numerous.
Besides shields and lances, they also carry bows and arrows,
a combination somewhat rare amongst Africans ; in addition
Weai'oxs of the MoMirTTOO.
Fics. 1-9. Various pcimitars. 10. Large dagger. 11. Hand-knife, fot carving and peeling bark.
108 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
to tliese, in their girdles they are accustomed to have scimi-
tars with curved blades like sickles, whilst some of them use
daggers and spatular knives of all shapes and sizes. The
projectiles which are in use among the Niam-niam are not
included in the equipment of the Monbuttoo.
Since the Monbuttoo dwell upon the red ferruginous soil
extending from the Gazelle over a large portion of Central
Africa, it may be assumed as a matter of course that smiths'
worjj must play an important part in their industrial pursuits,
an(f indeed in this respect they excel all other natives of the
districts through which I travelled, whilst in other branches
of their manufacture they surpassed even the Mohammedans
of Northern Africa.
The smelting process is of the most primitive description,
and is the same that has been described by travellers in
all parts of Africa. The simplicity of the arrangement is
caused by the ventilating apparatus ; for as the construction
of valves is unknown, a continual draft is produced by means of
two clay vessels, of which the openings are covered by the
Monbuttoo smiths with plantain leaves, which have been
allowed to simmer in hot water until they have become
as flexible as silk: other nations cover the openings with
soft skins. Although entirely without our pincers, hammers,
and files, the Monbuttoo have a set of implements of their
own, by means of which their iron-work is more carefully
manipulated than that of any of their neighbours. Instead
of the usual stone anvil, they use a miniature one of wrought
iron, and on this each separate weapon is cut out with a
chisel, and hammered until an approximate degree of sharp-
ness is attained ; the edge being brought to its finish by a
piece of fine-ground sandstone or gneiss, which answers the
purpose of a file. As a general rule, no special form is given
to the iron used as a medium of exchange, unless indeed the
great semicircular bars in the royal treasury be considered
as currency, and which remind one of the rough copper rings
MONBUTTOO METAL WORK. 109
that are brought from the mines of Darfoor.* Neither plates
of iron nor round spades (melots) are in vogue, but the smiths
have to work from great lumps of iron as large as the fist.
The dexterity of these artificers is wonderful, and the short
space of time in which they will convert the raw material
into spades and lances is, I should think, unrivalled. The
Monbuttoo smiths often joined our Bongo workmen at their
forges in our camp, and as I had frequent opportunity of
observing and comparing the two, I do not hesitate in assert-
ing the decided superiority of the workmanship of the Mon-
buttoo.
The masterpieces, however, of these Monbuttoo smiths are
the ornamental chains which, in refinement of form and neat-
ness of finish, might vie with our best steel chains ; in fact,
according to the judgment of connoisseurs, many of these
specimens of autochthonic art may well bear comparison with
the productions of our European craftsmen. The process of
tempering is quite unknown to them, the necessary hardness
being attained by continual hammering : the material used
is singularly pure and homogeneous, qualities acquired not
from any perfection of the smelting apparatus, but from the
laborious welding of the separate particles of iron.
Copper was already known, and the king was in possession
of large quantities of the metal, before the Nubians set foot
in the country ; and as previously to that event the Mon-
buttoo (if Ave except the great raid which Barth reports to
have been made upon them by the Foorians in 183-1) had
had no intercourse with the Mohammedan world, there is
every reason to conclude that they must have received their
supply either from the copper mines of Angola and Loango,
or from some other region of the north-western portion of
South Africa.
Almost all the ornaments worn by the Monbuttoo are made
* Iron rings of the heaviest calibre are current iu Wandala, south of Bornoo.
]10 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
of copper, so that it may be easily understood that the de-
maud for the metal is not small. One of the most frequent
uses to which it is applied is that of making flat wires, many
vards long, to wind round the handles of knives and scimi-
tars, or round the shafts of lances and bows. Copper, as well
as iron, is used for the clasps which are attached to the
shields, partly for ornament and partly to prevent them from
splitting. Copper necklaces are in continual wear, and
copper fostenings are attached to the rings of buffalo-hide
and to the thick thongs of the girdles. The little bars in-
serted through the ear are tipped with the same metal ; in
fact there is hardly an ornament that fails in an adjunct of
copper in some form or other ; persons of rank not unfre-
quently pride themselves in having ornamental weapons
formed entirely of it. All other metals being unknown, iron
and copper are estimated by the Monbuttoo as silver and
gold by ourselves, and the silver platter with which I pre-
sented the king failed to elicit any comment beyond the
observation that it was white iron. Lead and tin have been
introduced as curiosities by the Nubians, but previous to
their arrival had never been seen. Information, however,
which was incidentally dropped by a Niam-niam, led me to
suppose that fragments of platinum about the size of peas
have been found in these lands: he told me that a white
metal, as hard as iron and as heavy as the lead of which the
Nubians made their bullets, had been discovered, but that its
existence was always carefully concealed from the strangers.
I see no reason to doubt the truth of this statement, since it
originated from a people who in no other way could have
become aware of the existence of such a metal, which has
been hitherto as unknown to the Nubians as silver and gold
to the Monbuttoo.
It would require many illustrations to convey an adequate
idea of the various forms of the heads of the arrows and
lances : suffice it to say, that the symmetry of the various
MONBUTTOO WEAPONS.
Ill
barbs, spikes, and prongs with which they are provided is
always perfect. The prevailing forms of the spear-heads are
hastate, whilst the arrows are
generally made flat or spatnlar,
as inflicting a deeper and
wider wound than the pointed
tips. All weapons of the
Monbuttoo and the Niam-
niam are provided with blood
gutters, a mark which serves
to distinguish them at once
from those of the Bongo and
Mittoo. The shafts of the
Monbuttoo arrows are made
of reed-grass, and differ from
all others of the Bongo terri-
tory by being winged with
pieces of genet's skin or plan-
tain leaves. The bows are
rather over three feet in
length, and in form and size
correspond very nearly witli those used by the Mittoo and
Bongo ; the bow-strings being made of a strip of the split
Spanish reed, which possesses more elasticity than any cord.
These bows are provided with a small hollow piece of wood
for protecting the thumb from the rebound of the string.
The arrow is always discharged from between the middle
fingers.
The perfection of their instruments gives the Monbuttoo
a great advantage in the art of wood-carving, and they are
the only African nation, including even the modern Egyp-
tians, who make use of a graving-tool with a single edge,
an instrument which, by supporting the forefinger, enables
the workman to give a superior finish to the details of his
productions. The wood used for carving is generally that of
Vol. II.— 9
Spear-heads.
112
THE HEABT OP AFRICA.
the stem of one of the Rnbiacefe (Unearia), of which the soft
close texture resembles that of poplar-wood. The felling of
these giant-trees, which vary from six to eight feet in dia-
meter, and often shoot up to a height of forty feet without
throwing forth a single branch, is performed by means of
their small hatchets, with a most tedious amount of labour.
The hatchets are like those which are used in other parts of
Central Africa, and consist of a sharpened iron wedge inserted
through the thick end of a knotted club , thus every blow
tends to fix the blade firmer in its socket. The number of
blows necessary to fell one of these ponderous trees must
amount to several thousand, and yet 1 often noticed stems
lying in the forest the ends of which were as smooth as
though they had been cut with a knife, a circumstance that
attests their correctness of vision, a quality in which the
negroes outshine the Arabs and Nubians, as much as in their
appreciation of sound and musical talent. The first crude
Hatchet, spade, and adze, of the Monbuttou
form is given to the larger blocks of wood by means of a
tool something like a cooper's adze.* When first hewn, the
wood of the Unearia is white, but it is afterwards blackened
by exposure to fire, or still more frequently by being allowed
to lie in the dark soil of the brooks.
* One of these tools is represented in the accompanying illustration.
MOJSBurroo handicraft.
113
Platters, stools, drums, boats, and shields constitute the
chief items of their handicraft. Upon the Lower ►Shary, the
boats which are in common use are manufactured by fastening
together wooden planks, but here, on the Welle, canoes are
hewn out of a solid stem, and are in every way adapted for
their purpose. I saw some of them upwards of thirty-eight
feet long and five feet wide, quite large enough for the con-
veyance of horses and cattle.*
The large signal-drums ol the Niam-niam are to be. seen
in every Monbuttoo village. They stand sometimes upon
Wooden kettle-drum.
four, and sometimes upon two, feet, and are like the instru-
ments which are seen upon the West Coast. Another smaller
kind is made in a semicircular shape, very compressed, and
fitted with a handle at the top ; the opening for the sound is
below, and the instrument may be compared to a flattened
bell.
Benches and stools, such as are exclusively used by the
women, are made in every diversity of shape. They are
carved out of a single block, for, to say the truth, no people of
Central Africa seems to have acquired the art of joining one
piece of wood to another, so that the craft of the cabinet-
maker may be said to be unknown. The seats of these stools
are circular and somewhat hollowed out, surmounting a
* A boat of this kind is seen in the view of the rapids of the Keebaly, in
Chap. XVII.
114
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Single seat used by the Women.
prettily carved stem, which rises from a circular or polygonal
base. Close to the edge of the seat is a triangular aperture,
which serves as a handle. They are usually made from
twelve to sixteen inches
high, and are hardly to be
distinguished from certain
contrivances for meal-times,
which are here made so as
to serve at once for table
and plate. Wooden platters
there are of every possible
size: one kind of them has two
open ring-shaped handles ;
another stands upon four feet,
and both are patterns quite
worthy of our own factories
at home. Besides the single
seats they are in the habit of making long benches also with
four feet. The practice of making all their utensils to stand
upon feet is all but universal among the Niam-niam and the
Monbuttoo, even the little cylindrical boxes covered with bark
for storing away their knick-knacks being finished off in this
fashion. The ordinary seats of the men are made exclusively
from the leaf-stalks of the Raphia palm : they always keep to
precisely the same form, and in their manufacture appear to
indicate a first attempt at the joiner's art. The benches of the
Monbuttoo men are about five feet long and of corresponding
width ; they are made of such lightness that one of our
bearers, without any apparent exertion, carried six of them
at once ; but they are nevertheless of very extraordinary
firmness, and the way in which the separate parts are fixed
together is really very ingenious. The Monbuttoo do not
fasten their benches or any of their structures by means of
nails or pegs, but they sew them, as it were, together by fine
split Spanish reeds, which by their unyielding toughness
SEATS AND SHIELDS. 115
answer as admirably as in the manufacture of our cane-
cliairs.
Backs are not attached to the Monbuttoo seats ; but as
some support of the kind is clearly indispensable, they en-
deavour to supply its place by
placing by the side of their
benches a singular sort of crutch.
This is obtained by taking a young
tree and cutting a section of it,
where what botanists call its
" verticillate ramification " has
developed itself into four addi-
tional separate limbs: the main
stem and two of the boughs
supply the three feet, the other
two boughs serving, with the continuation of the stem, to
make the arms and back. No wood is so available for the
purpose as that of the cotton tree {Eriodendron).
The shields of the warriors are hewn out of the thickest
stems by means of the axe, and consist of perfectly smooth
rectangular boards, not more than half an inch thick, but
which are long enough to cover two-thirds of the person.
These inelegant instruments of defensive warfare, in which
the recommendation of solidity is ill sacrificed for the sake
of their lightness, require to be protected from splitting or
starting, and to secure this a number of parallel seams
of rotang are fixed across the width, and both the upper
and lower edges are provided with a strong border of
rotang twist, and a strong rib run across the middle gives
them an additional firmness. They are generally decorated
with tails of the guinea-hog (Potamochserus), and are in-
variably stained quite black. If any fissures or cracks
should be detected, they are at once drawn together by iron
and copper braces.
Contrasted with the rest of Africa, and even with the
IIG THE HEART OF AFPJCA.
Bongo, whose comparative skill was noticed on a previous
page,* the district shows a very considerable advance in the
manufacture of their pottery. Although they remain as
unacquainted as other races with the use of the wheel, their
productions, besides being of a superior quality, are of a more
perfect symmetry than any which are elsewhere observed.
All the vessels and drinking-cups of the Africans in general
Water-bottlea.
have the character of urns, being made without handles and
being never otherwise than spherical in form ; but those of
the Monbuttoo exhibit a manifest improvement, and by
having the surface decorated either with some raised sym-
metrical pattern (which is especially the case upon their oil
vessels) or with some ornamental figures, they afford a firm
hold to the hand, and thus make good the lack of handles for
lifting them. It is, however, principally upon the water-
bottles that the greatest care is bestowed, some of which may
fairly be said to rival in symmetry the far-famed examples of
Egyptian art, and to betray a considerable faculty of plastic
genius.t
* Vide vol. i. page 292.
t The two examples of water-bottles given in the engravings are copies ot
the originals, which are deposited in the Ethnographical Museum in Berlin,
GRASS ORNAMENTS. 117
For the bowls of pipes, upon wbich other of the native
populations lavish so much care, they have no use. They
smoke only the Virginian tobacco, and for this purpose
employ the midrib of the plantain leaf in the way that I
have already described,* superseding entirely the necessity
for a solid bowl.
They are very ignorant of the art of leather-dressing, and
are no more acquainted with the use of tan than any of the
rest of the tribes that have their homes in the Bahr-el-Ghazal
district.
Their baskets and nets are woven out of rotang, the form
of the baskets in which they bear burdens on their backs
being very similar to those which are seen amongst the
Thuringians. Their mode of dressing their hair necessarily
prevents them from ever carrying a load upon their heads.
They are in the habit of twisting ornaments for themselves
out of reeds and grass, which they wear like rings round
their arms and legs, and which make a rustling sound as they
walk. They bestow a great amount of care in weaving the
fine webs which hold on their hats and chignons. The rattles,
filled with shells and pebbles, that are used for beating time
to the music of the drums and horns at the great festivals
are also woven from reeds.
The Monbuttoo musical instruments require no particular
description. They do not include the pretty little mandolins
of the Niam-niam, nor any other stringed instruments, and
their horns, trumpets, and drums may be said to be little
short of universal throughout Africa. Wooden dulcimers
(Marimba) are met with neither here. nor in South Africa.
But the artistic versatility of the people reveals itself more
than anywhere else in their arcliitectural skill. It would
hardly be credited that Africa would be capable of rearing
To the one in three compartments handles are attached, heing the only instance
of the kind that I ever saw.
* Vide vol. i. page 547.
118 THE HEART OF AFEICA.
any erection so spacious and well proportioned as the ball of
Munza's palace. This was little short of 150 feet in length
and 60 feet in breadth, and rose to the height of about 50
feet. Combined with these imposing dimensions were a
lightness of character and solidity of structure that were quite
remarkable. The ever-useful leaf- stalks of the wine-palm
form the principal building-material, and its natural polish
and bright brown colour give every building for which it is
used an aspect of finished grace. The flat horizontal roofs of
their huts, as distinguished from the conical roofs which we
have hitherto observed as almost universal throughout the
rest of Central Africa, mark out these Monbuttoo in a fresh
respect as being allied to the natives of the west, viz., the
Ishogo, the Ashango, the Bakalai, the Ashiva, the Camma,
the Mpongwe, and the Fan — a relation that is further con-
firmed by the physical character of the land, the streams of
which flow to the west instead of to the north. Some of the
huts, however, have conical roofs, and these are generally
appropriated, either as kitchens, because they allow better
escape for the smoke, or as granaries, because they throw off
the rain more rapidly.
The dwellings of the ordinary population are by no means
large, being seldom more than thirty feet long, and twenty
feet wide ; the roofs project considerably, and are slightly
rounded with a bend corresponding to the natural curvature
of the palm leaves from which they are made, and which
furnish the ribs of the roof. They are rendered water-tight
by a lining of plantain leaves, which is frequently covered
again with grass, straw, or skin. The walls are built up to a
height of five or six feet, and are lined like the roof and
bound together by the split Spanish reed. This, again, is the
mode of erecting the huts upon the West Coast. It offers an
astonishing power of resistance to the fury of the elements,
which, left to play upon rows of posts or to range through
open halls, might be expected to work complete destruction ;
TREES. 119
yet such is the stability with which the Monbuttoo huts are
raised, that they never totter in, a storm, and only show by a
slight trembling in the walls that they are exposed to the
violence of a hurricane.
A spacious doorway is the only aperture for light and air,
the door itself being made in one piece ; the interior is
divided into two apartments, the more remote of which is
reserved for the stores.
Plantations of trees are frequent, and still more frequent
are patches of shrubs, which are intentionally suffered to grow,
and which, as being serviceable, are permitted to survive the
extirpation of the .ancient forests. These are generally to be
seen in the immediate vicinity of the unenclosed farms. In
addition to them, many trees are allowed to stand for the
sake of the shelter they afford ; and some are kept because
of their useful jDroducts, as for example, the Tephrosia
Vogelii, which furnishes the powder for poisoning fish ; or
the Bandia mallei/era, which produces the pigment for the
staining of the skiu, and of which the white funnel-shaped
blossoms are a striking ornament to the bushes ; and some
are retained merely for ornament and for increasing the
pleasantness of the external aspect of their dwellings. As
examples of this superfluous indulgence I may refer to the
marvellous Mussaenda, with its glowing bracts, and to the
variety of resplendent orchids. Here, too, I noticed what I
must not omit to record, the turf-like Chlorophijtum, with its
variegated leaves of mingled white and green, which is
employed among the Niam-niam as a charm to detect a
thief, much in the same way as the Canavalia ensiformis,
known as the "overlook" or horse-bean, is employed in
Jamaica and Haiti, where it is sown in the negro-plantations
for that purpose.
The huts are arranged in sets following the lines of the
brooks along the valleys, the space between each group
being occupied by plantations of oil-palms. The dwellings
120 THE HEART OF AFKICA.
are separated from the lowest parts of the depressions by the
plantain-grounds, whilst above, on the higher and drier soil,
extend the fields of sweet-potatoes and colocasiae.
No one could seriously expect a traveller, after a transient
residence of five weeks, to pass anything like a decided
judgment upon the religious ideas of a people like the
Monbuttoo. A wide scope for speculation is undoubtedly
opened, but it would ill become a stranger to pretend to
pronoimce a conclusive verdict. I must be excused, there-
fore, from drawing any very definite inference from the fact
that they adopt the rite of circumcision so far as to have it
performed on boys when they come to an age of puberty,
a period of life which is neither in accordance with the
original prescription, nor with the doctrine of Mohammed.
I may say, however, that I never allowed myself to be
unconcerned with regard to any of the people amongst
whom I journeyed as to their opinions about a presiding
Deity, but, by collecting all the proofs I could from their
habitual speech, I endeavoured to learn what were their
conceptions about the sovereignty of an invisible power,
and its influence upon the destinies of men.
The Monbuttoo have undoubtedly very intelligent ideas
of what the Nubians mean by their bowing of the knee,
their prostrations to the ground, and their cry of "Allah!"
The very designation which they use to express their concep-
tion of Grod as the concentration of the Supreme Being,
opens a long vista into the kindred association of African
people. In the district of the Mahas, the word now em-
ployed for the Grod of the Nubians is " Nor," and, upon the
authority of my interpreters, I may state that " Noro " was
the term by which, after the double interpretation, " Allah "
was rendered to me. When the question was put as to where
'* Noro " resided, the Monbuttoo, who was familiar with the
Niam-niam dialect, pointed upwards to the sky ; but when
he was further pressed with the inquiry whether he could
MONBUTTOO THEOLOGY.
121
see him, he only auswered with a smile. Whether the
Monbuttoo are in the habit of consulting oracles, or whether
they have any reliance upon auguries from fowls, or any
fortune-telling apparatus corresponding to the " damma " of
the Niam-uiam, my residence among them was not long
enough to permit me to ascertain.
Bongo woman. Dinka woman.
(See desiTiption, vol. i., p. 296.)
CHAPTEK XVI.
The Pygmies. Nubian stories. Ancient classical allusions. Homer, Hero-
dotus, Aristotle. My introduction to Pygmies. Adimokoo the Akka.
Close questioning. "War-dance. Visits from many Akka. Mummery's
Pygmy corps. My adopted Pygmy. Nsewue"s life and death. Dwarf
races of Africa. Accounts of previous authors : Battel, Dapper, KoUe.
Analogy of Akka with Bushmen. Height and complexion. Hair and
beards. Shape of the body. Awkward gait. Graceful hands. Form of
skull. Size of eyes and ears. Lips. Gesticulations. Dialect iuarticulate.
Dexterity and cunning. Munza's protection of the race.
Whenever two or three Egyptians are found in company,
the chances are very great that their conversation, if it could
be overheard, would be found to relate to the market prices
of the day, or to some fluctuations in the state of trade.
With the romantic sons of the Nubian Nile-valley the case
would be very difierent. Ample opportunity of making this
comparison was continually afforded me during the long
evenings which I passed in my transit upon the waters of
the Upper Nile ; and even now I can recall with vivid
interest the hours when, from my detached compartment on
the stern of the boat, I could, without being observed, listen
to the chatter by which the Nubians on the voyage beguiled
their time. They seemed to talk with eagerness of all the
wonders of the world. Some would expatiate upon the
splendours of the City of the Caliphs, and others enlarge
upon the accomplishment of the Suez Canal and the huge
ships of the Franks ; but the stories that ever commanded
the most rapt attention were those which treated of war and
NUBIAN TALES. 123
of the chase ; or, beyond all, such as described the wild beasts
and still wilder natives of Central Africa.
It was not with stories in the sense of ' The Thousand and
One Nights ' that this people entertained each other ; neither
did they recite their prolix histories as though they were read-
ing at the celebration of Ramadan in Cairo, amidst the halls
where night by night they abandoned themselves to the enjoy-
ment of their coffee. These things I had now long ago left
far. behind; however, occasionally, as the expiring strain of
Arabia, I might still hear the song of Abd-el-Kader the sheikh,
or of Aboo Zeyd the hero. My whole style of living seemed
now to partake of the character of an Odyssey ; it appeared
to be adapted for the embellishment of an Homeric episode,
and such an episode in truth was already awaiting me.
Of the Nile itself, which had the appearance, day by day,
of becoming wider as farther and farther we progressed
towards the south, they affirmed that it issued from the ocean
by which Africa was girt ; they would declare that we were
on the route which would lead us, like the cranes, to fight
with the Pygmies ; ever and again they would speak of
Cyclops, of Automoli, or of " Pygmies," but by whatever
name they called them, they seemed never to weary of
recurring to them as the theme of their talk. Some there
were who averred that with their own eyes they had seen this
people of immortal myth ; and these — men as they were whose
acquaintance might have been coveted by Herodotus and
envied by Aristotle — were none other than my own servants.
It was a fascinating thing to hear them confidently relate
that in the land to the south of the Niam-niam country there
dwelt people who never grew to more than three feet in
height, and who wore beards so long that they reached to
their knees.* It was affirmed of them that, armed with
* It may be remarked that the people of the Soudan when they depict a
dwarf, ordinarily, like we should ourselves, represent him as a diminutive man
with a lon^ beard.
124 THE HEART OP AFRICA.
strong lances, they would creep underneath the belly of an
elephant and dexterously kill the beast, managing their own
movements so adroitly that they could not be reached by
the creature's trunk. Their services in this way were
asserted to contribute very largely to the resources of the
ivory traders. The name by which they are known is the
" Shebber-digintoo," which implies the growth of the dis-
proportioned beard.
I listened on. The more, however, that I pondered silently
over the stories that they involuntarily disclosed — the more
I studied the traditions to which they referred — so much the
more I was perplexed to explain what must either be the
creative faculty or the derived impressions of the Nubians.
Whence came it that they could have gained any knowledge
at all of what Homer had sung ? How did it happen that
they were familiar at all with the material which Ovid and
Juvenal, and Nonnus and Statins worked into their verse,
giving victory at one time to the cranes, and at another to
the Pygmies themselves ?
My own ideas of Pygmies were gathered originally only
from books, but the time seemed now to have come when
their existence should be demonstrated in actual life.
Legends of Pygmies had mingled themselves already with
the earliest surviving literature of the Greeks, and the poet
of the Iliad, it will be remembered, mentions them as a race
that had long been known : —
" To -wamier seas the cranes embodied fly,
With noise, and order, through the midway sky ;
To pygmy nations wounds and death they bring,
And all the war descends upon the wing."
Pope's ' Homer's Iliad,' iii. 6-10.
But not the classic ipoets alone j sober historians and precise
geographers have either adopted the poetic substance of the
tradition or have endeavoured, by every kind of conjecture,
to confii-m its accuracy. Nothing, for instance, can be more
CLASSICAL WITNESS TO PYGMIES. 125
definite than the statement of Herodotus about the Nasa-
raonians after they had crossed the Libyan deserts : " They
at length saw some trees growing on a plain, and having
approached they began to gather the fruit that grew on the
trees ; and while they were gathering it some diminutive
men, less than men of middle stature, came up and seized
them and carried them away." * The testimony of Aristotle
is yet more precise when he says plainly : " The cranes fly
to the lakes above Egypt, from which flows the Nile ; there
dwell the Pygmies, and this is no fable but the pure truth ;
there, just as we are told, do men and horses of diminutive
size dwell in caves ;" f a quotation this, which would seem
to imply that the learned Stagyrite was in possession of some
exact and positive information, otherwise he would not have
ventured to insist so strongly upon the truth of his assertion.
Very likely, however, we should be justified in surmising
that Aristotle mentions cranes and Pygmies together only
because he had the passage of the Iliad floating in his
memory, and because he was aware of the fact that cranes do
pass the winter in Africa. For my own part, I should be
incliued to doubt whether cranes ever reach the Victoria
and Albert Nyanza ; on the Ked Sea I saw them in latitude
20° N., and Brehm observed them in Sennaar ; on the
White Nile, however, and farther inland, I only found the
native Balearic crane, which could hardly have been the spe-
cies mentioned by Aristotle. But whether cranes were really
capable of fighting with Pygmies or not, or whether (as
Pauer attempts to prove) the Homeric tradition was derived
from ancient Egyptian symbolism, and so was an emblematic
representation of the cranes battling with the falling waters
of the Nile stream, this is now immaterial ; all that concerns,
us, with regard to the present topic, is that three or four^
* Herodotus, ii. 32.
t Aristotle's ' Hist. Animal,' lib. viii. cap. 2.
126 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
centuries before the Christian era the Greeks were aware of
the existence of a people inhabiting the districts about the
sources of the Nile, who were remarkable for their stunted
growth. The circumstance may warrant us, perhaps, in
employing the designation of " pygmy," not for men literally
a span long, but in the sense of Aristotle, for the dwarf races
of Equatorial Africa.
Throughout the time that I had resided in the Seribas of
the Bongo territory, of course I had frequent opportunities
of enlarging my information, and I was continually hearing
such romantic stories that I became familiarised in a way
with the belief that the men about me had really been eye-
witnesses of the circumstances they related. Those who had
been attached to the Niam-niam expeditions, whenever they
described the variety of wonders about the splendour of the
courts of the cannibal kings, never omitted to mention the
dwarfs who filled the office of court buffoons; every one
outvying another in the fantastic embellishment of the tales
they told. The general impression that remained upon my
mind was that these must be some extraordinary specimens
of pathological phenomena that had been retained by the
kings as natural curiosities. The instance did not escape my
recollection that Speke had given the description and por-
trait of a dwarf, Kimenya, with whom he had become
acquainted at the court of Kamrasi ; * but that there could
be a whole series of tribes whose average height was far
below an average never really found a reception in my
understanding, until at the court of Munza the positive
evidence was submitted to my eyes.
Several days elapsed after my taking up my residence by
the palace of the Monbuttoo king without my having a
chance to get a view of the dwarfs, whose fame had so keenly
excited my curiosity. My people, however, assured me that
■ Speke's Travels,' p. 550.
ADIMOKOO THE AKKA. 127
they had seen them. I remonstrated with them for not
liaving secured me an opportunity of seeing for myself, and
for not bringing them into contact with me. I obtained no
other reply but that the dwarfs were too timid to come.
After a few mornings my attention was arrested by a
shouting in the camp, and I learned that Mohammed had
surprised one of the Pygmies in attendance upon the king,
and was conveying him, in spite of a strenuous resistance,
straight to my tent, I looked up, and there, sure enougii,
was the strange little creature, perched upon Mohammed's
right shoulder, nervously hugging his head, and casting
glances of alarm in every direction. Mohammed soon depo-
sited him in the seat of honour. A royal interpreter was
stationed at his side. Thus, at last, was I able veritably to
feast my eyes upon a living embodiment of the myths of
some thousand years !
Eagerly, and without loss of time, I proceeded to take his
portrait. I pressed him with innumerable questions, but to
ask for information was an easier matter altogether than to
get an answer. There was the greatest difficulty in inducing
him to remain at rest, and I could only succeed by exhibiting
a store of presents. Under the impression that the oppor-
tunity before me might not occur again, I bribed the
interpreter to exercise his influence to pacify the little man,
to set him at his ease, and to induce him to lay aside any
fear of me that he might entertain. Altogether we succeeded
so well that in a couple of hours the Pygmy had been
measured, sketched, feasted, presented with a variety of gifts.
and subjected to a minute catechism of searching questions.
His name was Adimokoo. He was the head of a small
colony, which w'as located about half a league from the royal
residence. With his own lips I heard him assert that the
name of his nation was Akka, and I further learnt that they
inhabit large districts to the south of the Monbuttoo between
lat. 2° and 1" N. A portion of them are subject to the
Vol. II.— lu
^
128 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Monbuttoo king, who, desirous of enhancing the splendour of
his court by the addition of any available natural curiosities,
had compelled several families of the Pygmies to settle in
the vicinity.
My Niam-niam servants, sentence by sentence, interpreted
to me everything that was said by Adimokoo to the Mon-
buttoo interpreter, who was acquainted with no dialects but
those of his own land.
In reply to my question put to Adimokoo as to where his
country was situated, pointing towards the S.S.E., he said,
" Two days' journey and you come to the village of Mum-
mery ; on the third day you will reach the Kiver Nalobe ;
the fourth day you arrive at the first of the villages of the
Akka."
" What do you call the rivers of your country ? "
" They are the Nalobe, the Namerikoo, and the Eddoopa."
" Have you any river as large as the Welle ? "
" No ; ours are small rivers, and they all flow into the
Welle."
" Are you all one people, or are you divided into separate
tribes ? "
To this inquiry Adimokoo replied by a sudden gesture, as
if to indicate the vastness of their extent, and commenced
enumerating the tribes one after another. " There are the
Navapukah, the Navatipeh, the Vabingisso, the Avadzubeh,
the Avagowumba, the Bandoa, the Mamomoo, and the Aga
bundah."
" How many kings ? " I asked.
" Nine," he said ; but I could only make out the names of
Galeema, Beddeh, Tindaga, and Mazembe.
My next endeavour was directed to discover whether he
was acquainted in any way with the dwarf races that have
been mentioned by previous travellers, and whose homes I
presumed would be somewhere in this part of Africa. I
asked him whether he knew the Malagilage, who, according
THE PYGMY'S WAE-DANCE. 129
to the testimony of Escayrac de Lauture, live to the south .
of Baghirmy. My question, however, only elicited a comical
gesture of bewilderment and a vague inquiry, " What is
that ? " Nor did I succeed at all better in securing any
recognition of the tribes of the Kenkob or the Betsan, which
are mentioned by Kolle. Equally unavailing, too, were all
-my efforts to obtain answers of any precision to the series
of questions which I invented, taking my hints from Peter-
mann and Hassenstein's map of Central Africa, so that I was
obliged to give up my geographical inquiries in despair and
turn to other topics. But in reality there did not occur any
subject whatever on which I obtained any information that
seems to me to be wortli recording. At length, after having
submitted so long to my curious and persistent questionings,
the patience of Adimokoo was thorougiily exhausted, and he
made a frantic leap in his endeavour to escape from the tent.
Surrounded, however, by a crowd of inquisitive Bongo and
Nubians, he was unable to effect his purpose, and was com-
pelled, against his will, to remain for a little longer. After
a time a gentle persuasion was brought to bear, and he was
induced to go through some of the characteristic evolutions
of his war-dances. He was dressed, like the Monbuttoo, in a
rokko-coat and plumed hat, and was armed with a miniature
lance as well as with a bow and arrow. His height I found
to be about 4 feet 10 inches, and this I reckon to be the
average measurement of his race.
Although I had repeatedly been astonished at witnessing
the war-dances of the Niam-niam, I confess that my amaze-
ment was greater than ever when I looked upon the exhibi-
tion which the Pygmy afforded. In spite of his large, bloated
Itelly and short bandy legs — in spite of his age, which, by
the way,* was considerable — Adimokoo's agility was perfectly
marvellous, and I could not help wondering whether cranes
would ever be likely to contend with such creatures. The S.
little man's leaps and attitudes were accompanied by such '
130
THE HEART OF AFEICA.
lively and grotesque varieties of expression that the spec-
tators shook again and held their sides with laughter. The
interpreter explained
to the Niam-nicim
that the Akka jump
about in the grass
like grasshoppers*,
and that they are so
nimble that they
shoot their arrows
into an elephant's
eye and drive their
lauces into their
bellies. The gestures
of the Akka, to which
I shall have occasion
again to refer, always
reminded me of the
pictures given by
travellers to repre-
sent the Bushmen of
the south.
Adimokoo returned
home loaded with.
presents, I made him
understand that I
should be glad to see
all his people, and
promised that they should lose nothing by coming.
On the following day I had the pleasure of a visit from
two of the younger meu. 1 had the opportunity of sketching
their likenesses, and as one of the portraits has been pre-
served it is inserted here.
After they had once got over their alarm, some or other
of the Akka came to me almost every day. As exceptional
Bomby the Akka.
COLLISION WITH THE AKKA. 131
cases, I observed that some individuals were of a taller
stature ; but upon investigation I alwa^^s ascertained that
this was the result of intermarriage with the Monbnttoo
amongst whom they resided. My sudden departure from
Munza's abode interrupted me completely in my study of
this interesting people, and I was compelled to leave before
I had fully mastered the details of their peculiarities. I
regret that I never chanced to see one of the Akka women,
find still more that my visit to their dwellings was postponed
from day to day until the opportunity was lost altogether.
I am not likely to forget a rencontre which I had with
several hundred Akka warriors, and could very heartily wish
that the circumstances had permitted me to give a pictorial
representation of the scene. King Munza's brother Mum-
mery, who was a kind of viceroy in the southern section of
his dominions, and to whom the Akka were tributary, was
just returning to the court from a successful campaign
against the black Momvoo. Accompanied by a large band of
soldiers, amongst whom was included a corps of Pygmies, he
was conveying the bulk of the booty to his royal master. It
happened on the day in question that I had been making a-
long excursion with my Niam-niam servants, and had heard
nothing of Mummery's arrival. Towards sunset I was passing
along the extensive village on my return to my quarters,
when, just as I reached the wide open space in front of the
royal halls, I found myself surrounded by what I conjectured
must be a crowd of impudent boys, who received me with a
sort of bravado fi^ht. They pointed their arrows towards
me, and behaved generally in a manner at which I pould
not help feeling somewhat irritated, as it betokened unwar-
rantable liberty and intentional disrespect. My misappre-
hension was soon corrected by the Niam-niam people about
me. " They are Tikkitikki," * said they ; " you imagine
* Tikkitikki is the Niam-niam designation of the Akka.
132 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
that they are boys, but in truth they are men ; nay, men
that can fight." At this moment a seasonable greeting from
Mummery drew me off from any apprehension on my part
and from any farther contemplation of the remarkable spec-
tacle before me. In my own mind I resolved that I would
minutely inspect the camp of the new-comers on the following
morning ; but I had reckoned without my host : before dawn
Mummery and his contingent of Pygmies had taken their
departure, and thus,
" Like the baseless fabric of a vision."
this people, so near and yet so unattainable, had vanished
once more into the dim obscurity of the innermost con-
tinent.
Anxious, in my contact with this mythical race, to lose
or pass over nothing which might be of interest, I very
diligently made memoranda after every interview that I
had with the Akka. I measured six full-grown individuals,
none of whom much exceeded 4 feet 10 inches in height,
but, unfortunately, all my notes and many of my drawings
perished in the fire.
A brief account may now be given of the little Pygmy
that I carried off and kept with me during the remainder of
my wanderings till I was again in Nubia, who for a year
and a half became my companion, thriving under my care
and growing almost as affectionate as a son.
I have already explained in a previous chapter the circum-
stances under which the little man came into my keeping.
I succeeded tolerably well in alleviating the pain of the
lad's parting from all his old associations by providing him
with all the good living and bestowing upon him all the
attention that lay in my power. To reconcile him to his
lot I broke through an old rule. I allowed him to be my
constant companion at my meals — an exception that I never
made in favour of any other native of Africa. Making
NSEWUE'S DEATH. 133
it my first care that he should be healthy and couteDted,
I SHbmitted without a murmur to all the uncouth habits
peculiar to his race. In Khartoom at last I dressed him up
till he looked like a little pasha. The Nubians could not
in the least enter into my infatuation, nor account for my
partiality towards the strange-looking lad. When he walked
along the thoroughfares at my side they pointed to him, and
cried, with reference to his bright-brown complexion, " See,
there goes the son of the Khavaga ! " Apparently they
overlooked the fact of the boy's age, and seemed not to be
in any way familiarised with the tradition of the Pygmies.
In the Seribas all along our route the little fellow excited a
still greater astonishment.
Notwithstanding all my assiduity and attention, I am
sorry to record that Nsewue died in Berber, from a prolonged
attack of dysentery, originating not so much in any change
of climate, or any alteration in his mode of living, as in his
immoderate excess in eating, a propensity which no influence
on my part was sufficient to control.
During the last ten months of his life, my protege did
not make any growth at all. I think I may therefore
presume that his height would never have exceeded 4 feet
7 inches, which was his measurement at the time of his
death. The portrait on the following page may be accepted
as a faithful representation of one who was a fair type of
his race.
Altogether very few examples of the Akka came under
my notice; but so ample was my opportunity of studying in
detail the peculiarities of this individual specimen, that, in the
course of any observations that follow, I shall feel justified
in referring to Nsewue, when the rest of my experience
furnishes no other illustration.
The Akka would appear to be a branch of that series of
dwarf races which, exhibiting all the characteristics of an
aboriginal stock, extend along the equator entirely across
134
THE HEART OF AFRICA,
Nsewue the Akka
Africa. Whatever travellers have })enetrated far into the
interior of the continent liave furnished abundant testimony
as to the mere hct of the existence of tribes of singularly
diminutive height; whilst their accounts are nearly all
coincident in representing tliat these dwarf races differ in
hardly anything from the surrounding nations excepting
only in their size. It would be entirely an error to describe
them as dwarfs either in the sense of the ancient myth?,
or in the way of lusus naturse, such as are exhibited as
curiosities amongst ourselves ; most of the accounts, more-
over, that have been given, concur in the statement that
THE OBONGO. lSr>
these undersized people are distinguished from their neigh-
bours by a redder or brighter shade of complexion ; but they
differ very considerably in the reports they make about the
growth of the hair. The only traveller, I believe, before-
myself that has come into contact with any section of tliisi
race is Du Chaillu, who, in the territory of the Ashango.
discovered a wandering tribe of hunters called Obongo, and
took the measurements of a number of them. He describes
these Obongo as " not ill-shaped," and as having skins of a
pale, yellow-brown, somewhat lighter than their neighbours :
he speaks of their having short heads of hair, but a great
growth of hair about their bodies. Their average height
he affirms to be 4 feet 7 inches. In every particular but the
abundance of hair about the person, this description is quite
applicable to the Akka. According to Battel,* there was a
nation of dwarfs, called the Matimbos or Doiigo, to the
north-east of the land of Tobbi, which lies to the north of
the Sette River, and consequently in the same district as
that in which Du Chaillu discovered the Obongo. Portu-
guese authorities, moreover, quite at the beginning of the
seventeenth century, contain a distinct reference to a dwarf
nation called Bakka-bakka. Dapper furnishes corresponding
information on the same subject; and all that he relates
about the dwarfs coincides very accurately with what is
known about the Akka, whose name had penetrated even
at that date to the western equatorial coasts. It is to be
understood that districts were known by the name of the
people who chanced to be occupying them, and not by any
permanent name of the soil itself. After Dapper, in his
compilation, had told the history of the Yagas, who is said
in olden time to have spread fear and destruction as far as
the coasts of the Loango, a hundred miles away, so that ii
took three months for cai-avans to come and go, he procecls
* Vide Battel. ' Purchas his Pil-.,' II. London, 1C25, p. 983.
13G • THE HEART OF AFRICA.
to state that the greater part of the ivory was obtained still
farther inland, and was brought from a people who were
tributary to the great Makoko, and called Mimos or Bakke-
bakke. " These little men," he writes,* " are stated by the
Yagas to have the power of making themselves invisible, and
consequently can slay an elephant with little trouble." And
this dexterity in killing elephants seems to be implied in
another place,t where, in describing the court of Loango and
the dwarfs who took up their positions before the throne, he
says, " the negroes affirm that there is a wilderness inhabited
by those dwarfs, and where there are many elephants ; they
are generally called Bakke-bakke, but sometimes Mimos."
Farther on again J he speaks of the empire of the great
Makoko (described as lying beyond the kingdom of Kongo,
and some 200 miles or more inland, north of the River
Zaire), and proceeds to specify that "in the wilderness of
this country there are to be found the little people that
have been mentioned before, vv^ho carry on the greater part
of the ivory trade throughout the kingdom." Besides this it
is expressly stated that the ivory was bartered for the salt
of Loango. Now in none of the countries that I visited in
Central Africa was either sea salt or common salt ever an
article of commerce, but each separate nation produced its
own supply from ashes : but whilst I was at the court of
Munza I learnt from the Khartoomers who had settled there
that, as matter of fact, king Munza did receive tribute from
the Akka in the shape of " real good salt" which was brought
from the far south. Taken in connection with Dapper's
account, this statement would seem to justify the hypothesis
that even at this day there may be commercial transactions
between the very heart of Africa, where the Akka dwell, and
the western coasts.
Still more demonstrative than any reports about Matimbos
D ipper, Germ, ed., Amsterd., p. 571. t lb., P- 527. % lb., p. 573.
THE KENKOB. 137
and Bakke-bakke, as proving the identity of my Akka with
the abnormally-formed folks previously named, is the evi-
dence that is furnished by the natives of the Upper
Shary districts. Escayrac de Lauture * was told of a Lake
Koeidabo, which was said to be a two months' journey to
the S.S.E. of Masena, the capital of Baghirmy, and to unite
the source-affluents of the Shary just at the spot where,
according to the Monbuttoo, the Welle widens into a bound-
less expanse of water. Somewhat to the west of this lake,
he was informed, were the dwellings of the Mala-gilageh
(literally, men with tails), who were of small stature and
reddish complexion, or, as the Africans expressed it, "w/wYe,"
and covered with long hair. The fabulous tails must be
supposed to be added by a kind of poetic licence, or as a
concession to the belief in marvellous stories that were rife
throughout the Soudan. It may with much probability be
assumed that the same districts in Central Africa must
be ^ the homes of the'Kenkob and Betsan, of whom Kolle,t
residing in Sierra Leone, heard reports from those who
professed to have actually seen them. In these reports the
great lake was very often referred to. One of Kolle's in-
formants called it " Leeba," and said that he had on one
occasion personally accompanied an embassy that was com-
missioned to convey a present of salt to the king who
governed over the territories by the shores of the lake ;
and he distinctly affirmed not only that the Kenkob lived
in close proximity to the same lake, but that they were a
people only three or four feet in height, but virho neverthe-
less possessed great strength and were excellent hunters.
Another witness informed Kolle that he only knew of "a
river Keeba " in that part of the country ; but it is extremely
likely that in reality he was referring to the same Lake
* 'Bulletin de la Soc. dc GeogiapU de Paris,' torn, x., 1855.
t 'Polyglotta Africana,' p. 12.
138 THFJ HEART OF AFRICA.
Leeba which, by repeated geographical investigation, has
been proved to be a part of the Shary : * he \\ent on to
describe that by this river Eeeba there dwelt a diminutive
race called Betsan, varying from three feet to five feet in
iieight, and stated that they had very long hair and very
long beards, adding that they supported themselves entirely
by the produce of the chase.
Both these witnesses agreed in describing the hair of the
dwarfs as long; and I always found that the Niam-niani
laid particular stress upon their having long beards; but I
must confess I never observed this characteristic in any
of the Akka who came under my notice.
Nor is east Tropical Africa without its representatives of
people of this stunted growth. Of these I may especially
mention the Doko, who are reported to dwell to the south of
Enarea and Kaffa on the Upper Juba. Krapf, who has with
much diligence compared the various accounts of many
slaves who have been carried away from the district .in
question to Shoa, fixes the habitation of the Doko as being
below the latitude of 3° north. Their height is compared
with that of boys ten years of age. Even those who have
seen them and (like A. d'Abbadie) deny that they are dwarfs,
yet admit that they are under a medium stature. On the
coast itself, in Zanzibar and at Bravaj where, occasioned by
the 3Iohammedan Somali, there is a considerable inter-
course with the districts said to be populated by the Doko,
stories of these dwarfs are in every one's mouth, and they
are termed the " Berikeemo," i.e. people two feet high.
This rapid summary of the dwarf races that are known in
Africa would be incomplete without a passing reference to the
Kimos of Madagascar, of whom, from the middle of the seven-
teenth century down to our own time the most contradictory
* In nearly all the negro dialects the letters I and r are used indifferently ;
and Africans, as a rule, very much confound the ideas of lake and river.
PYGMIES COMPARED WITH BUSHMEN. 139
reports have been in circulation. Any detailed accounts of
these would of course be here entirely out of place. Mada-
gascar, too, from its isolation, must ever be treated inde-
pendently. The relation of its inhabitants to the inhabitants
of Central Africa is very doubtful. It will now suffice to say
generally that the evidence appears to lie open before us of
there being a series of unestablished and imperfectly developed
nations which, although they are now in their decline, extend
from ocean to ocean across the entire equatorial zone of Africa.
Scarcely a doubt can exist but that all these people, like
the Bushmen of South Africa, may be considered as the
scattered remains of an aboriginal population now becoming
extinct ; and their isolated and sporadic existence bears out
the hypothesis. For centuries after centuries Africa has been
experiencing the effects of many immigrations : for thousands
of years one nation has been driving out another, and as the
result of repeated subjugations and interminglings of race
with race, such manifold changes have been introduced into
the conditions of existence that the succession of new phases,
like the development in the world of plants, appears almost
as it were to open a glimpse into the infinite.
Incidentally I have just referred to the Bushmen, those
notorious natives of the South African forests, who owe their
name to the likeness which the Dutch colonists conceived
they bore to the ape, as the prototype of the human race. I
may further remark that their resemblance to the equatorial
Pygmies is in many points very striking. Gustav Fritsch,
the author of a standard work upon the natives of Soutli
Africa, first drew my attention to the marked similarity
between my portraits of the Akka and the general type of
the Bushmen, and so satisfied did I become in my own
mind that I feel quite justified (in my observations upon
the Akka) in endeavouring to prove that all the tribes
of Africa whose proper characteristic is an abnormal!} low
stature belone: to one and the self-same race.
140 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
According to Fritsch the average height of the genuine
Bushmen is 1*44 metres, or about 4 feet 8^ inches; the
height of the two Akka, whose portraits I have inserted,
were 4 feet 1 inch and 4 feet 4 inches respectively ; and, as
I have said, I never saw any instance in which the height
materially exceeded 4 feet 10 inches. The skin of the Akka
is of a dull brown tint, something of the colour of partially
roasted coffee. As far as I can remember, the colour would
correspond nearly with Nos. 7 and 8 in the table of skin-
tints in Plate 49 of Fritsch's work, and these are the
numbers by which he indicates the complexion of the
Bushmen. It is somewhat difficult to discriminate between
the complexion of the Akka and that of their neighbours
the Monbuttoo, since the latter exhibit a variety of shades
of the same tint ; but I should be inclined to say that the
distinction lies in the somewhat duller hue of the Akka,
such as might be understood by comparing .No, 2 with
No. 8 in the table to which I have referred.
The hair and beard are but slightly developed. All the
Akka that I saw wore the ordinary costume and cylindrical
straw hat of the Monbuttoo; but, in consequence of their
hair being short as well as woolly, they are unable to form
a chignon like their neighbours. The colour of their hair
corresponds with their complexion; in texture it may best
be compared with the waste tow from old cordage. This
absence of the beard is characteristic also of the Bushmen.
The Nubians indeed used to tell me of the dwarfs about the
courts of the Niam-niam princes being noted for long hair,
and they affirmed that some of them, in the fashion of the
West Africans, were in the habit of stiffening put their long
pointed tufts of hair on their chin with pitch ; no doubt, too,
their common designation for this people (Shebber digintoo)
has reference to this characteristic ; but I could never succeed
in getting any accurate or more definite information about
dwarfs of this species. The Akka resemble the majority of
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AKKA. 141
the Monbuttoo in having brown hair, other nations of a
reddish tone of complexion not sharing this peculiarity.
Taking, as I have said, my little protege Nsewue as a fair
type of the Akka m general, I will proceed to enumerate the
most prominent marks in their common appearance.
The head of the Akka is large, and out of proportion to
the weak, thin neck on which it is balanced. The shape of
the shoulders is peculiar, differing entirely from that of other
negroes in a way that may probably be accounted for by the
unusual scope required for the action of the shoulder-blades ;
the arms are lanky ; and altogether the upper portion of the
body has a measurement disproportionately long. The su-
perior region of the cliest is ilat and much contracted, but
it widens out below to support the huge hanging belly,
which gives them, however aged, the remarkable appearance
of Arabian or Egyptian children. The look of the Akka
from behind is very singular. Their body seeming then to
form a curve so regular and defined that it is almost like
a letter S ; this is probably to be accounted for by an
exceptional suppleness in the lower joints of tlie spine, since
after a full meal the centre of gravity is shifted, and the
curve of the back accordingly becomes more or less concave.
All the various personal traits of the Akka to which I have
thus referred are illustrated very plainly in Fritsch's work
by the figure (No. 69) which represents an old Bushman.
The joints of the legs are angular and projecting, except
that the knees are plump and round. Unlike other Africans,
who ordinarily walk with their feet straight, the Akka turn
them somewhat inward. I hardly know how to describe
their waddling; every step they take is accompanied by a
lurch that seems to affect all their limbs alike ; and Nsewue
could never manage to carry a full dish for any distance
without spilling at least a portion of its contents.
Of all their members their hands were undoubtedly the
best formed. These might really be pronounced elegant,
142 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
alt hough 1 do not mean that they were in the least like the
long narrow ladies' hands that are so lauded in romance, but
which Carl Vogt has characterised as appropriate to the
monkey type. Nothing about my poor little favourite ever
excited my admiration to the same degree as his pretty little
hands, and so attentively have I studied every -part of his
singular form that not even the smallest detail has escaped
my memory.
But all the peculiarities of the race culminate in the
shape of the skull and in the physiognomical character of
the head. As matter of fact, history has not exhibited that
auy general degeneracy in a nation has ever been attended
by a general decrease in a people's stature ; but still it is
quite possible that the peculiarities I have already mentioned
might originate in some modification of the way of living.
Any attempt, however, to attribute the formation of the
skull to the effects either of circumstance, of food, or oi'
climate must at once be rejected as inadmissible. The most
noticeable points in the structure of the heads of the Akka
is their high degree of j^rognathie. The two portraits that
are given exhibit facial angles of 60° and 66° respectively.
Besides this they are remarkable for the snout-like projection
of the jaw with an unprotruding chin, and for the wide skull
which is almost spherical, and which has a deep indentation
at the base of the nose. These leading resemblances
indubitably exist between the Akka and the Bushmen:
and where the general similarity is so great, all minor dis-
crepancies must sink into insignificance.
All the accounts of the South African Bushmen agree in
representing that their eyes are small and their eyelids con-
tracted. " Their eyes," says Lichtenstein, " are small, deeply
set, and so compressed as to be scarcely visible." Fritseh lays
special stress upon this peculiarity of tlie Bushmen, but at
the same time draws attention to the likeness of expression
between them and the Hottentots, who otherwise differ from
COMPARISON OF AKKA WITH BUSHMEJ^. 143
them so widely. Now the Akka, on the other hand, have
large eyes, wide open, so as to give them the bird-like appear-
ance of Azteks; and does not Bomby's portrait,* I may ask,
recall the Azteks who a few years ago were exhibited in
Europe ? Amid the multitude of resemblances this may be
said to be the only important difference between the Akka
and the Bushmen, and probably even this may be accounted
for as beiug the effect either of food or climate, in the same
way as the weather-beaten countenance of the mariner may
be attributed to the life of exposure that he has led.
Setting aside, however, this diversity with regard to the
eyes, the heads of the Akka and the Bushmen will be found
to present various points of similarity in other respects.
The Akka are distinguished from all other nations of Central
Africa by the huge size of the ear. Now, however small, in
an aesthetic sense, the negroes' pretensions to any beauty
may ordinarily be supposed to be, it must be conceded that
they can vie with any race whatever in the elegance and
symmetrical shape of their ears ; but no share of this grace
can be assigned either to the Bushmen or to the Akka.
The lips project in a way that corresponds completely
with the projecting jaw. They are long and convex ; they
do not overlap, and are not so thick as those of the generality
of negroes. What really suggests the resemblance to an
ape is the sharply-defined outline of the gapiug mouth ; for
the pouting lips of most negroes convey no idea at all of
relationship with inferior animals. These gaping lips, again,
are possessed by the Akka in common with the Bushmen,
whose profiles may be seen in the illustrations given by
Fritsch ; they are not found at all amongst the Monbuttoo.
The continual changes of expression which, as Liehtenstein
observes, play upon the countenance and render the Bush-
men like apes rather than human beings are exhibited to a
* Vide ante, p. 130.
Vol. II.— 11
144 THE HEART OF AFKICA.
very renmrkable degree by the Akka. The twitching of the
eyebrows (in tliis case still more animated by the brightness
of the eyes), the rapid gestures with the hands and feet while
talking, the incessant wagging and nodding of the head, all
combine to give a very grotesque appearance to the little
people, and serve to explain the fund of amusement derived
from the visit of Adimokoo.
Of the language of the Akka I must confess my entire
ignorance, having lost the few notes that I possessed. I
remember that I was much struck by the inarticulateness of
the pronunciation. During the year and a half that ■myjproUge
was domesticated with me he was unable to learn sufficient
Arabic to make himself understood ; in this respect he was
very different to the other natives a'bout me, who made them-
selves masters of a copious vocabulary. He never advanced
beyond stammeriug out a few Bongo phrases, which no one ex-
cept myself and a few of my own peoj^le could comprehend.
Although I was informed that circumcision was practised
by the Akka, I could never ascertain whether it was really
an indigenous custom, or whether it was merely borrowed
from the Monbuttoo, and so adopted by such of the Akka as
had settled near the court of Munza.
In acuteness, dexterity, and it must be added in cunning,
the Akka far surpass the Monbuttoo. They are kut
i^o')(i]v, a nation of hunters. The cunning, however, which
they display is but the outward expression of an inner
impulse which seems to prompt them to find a delight in
wickedness. Nsewue was always fond of torturing animals,
and took a special pleasure in throwing arrows at the dogs
by night. During the period in which we were involved in
war, and while my servants were almost beside themselves
with anxiety, nothing afforded him greater amusement than
to play with the heads that had been severed from the slain
A-Banga ; and when I boiled some of the skulls his delight
knew no bounds ; he rushed about the camp shouting,
RELATIONS OF THE AKKA WITH THE MONBUTTOO. 145
"Bakinda,* nova? Bakinda be he koto" (Where is Ba-
kinda? Bakinda is in the pot!) Such a people as this
would naturally excel in the inventive faculty for laying
traps and snares for game.
Like the Obongo and the Bushmen, as I myself expe-
rienced during my first rencontre with Adimokoo, the Akka
are extremely shy with other men.
Their only domestic animals are poultry ; and it struck
rae as a coincidence somewhat curious that one of the
Pompeian mosaics which I saw in the National Museum at
Naples represents the Pygmies in the midst of their little
houses, which are depicted as full of common fowls.
It is notorious that the natives of South Africa in general
have vowed death and destruction against the Bushmen,
reckoning them as incorrigibly wild and in no way superior
to apes of the most dangerous character. Now the dwarfs of
Central Africa, although they fall little short of the Bushmen
in natural maliciousness, are not regarded as mischievous
fiends who must be exterminated like a brood of adders, but
they are considered rather as a sort of benevolent spirits or
mandrakes who are in no way detrimental. They are of
assistance to the Monbuttoo in securing them a more abun-
dant produce from the chase, and so they enjoy the protec-
tion of their neighbours very much in the same way as
(according to Du Chaillu) the Obongo enjoy the protection
of the Ashango. These amicable relations, however, would
not be possible but for the reason that the Monbuttoo possess
no herds. If the Monbuttoo were a cattle-breeding people,
it cannot be doubted that the Akka would consider all their
animals as game, and could not deny themselves the delight
of driving their spears into the flanks of every beast they
could get near, and by these tactics would very soon convert
their guardians into enemies.
* "Bakinda," is a mere derisive nickname.
146
THE HEART 01^' AFIUCA.
Munza supplies all the Akka who have settled near him
with the best of diet, and Nsewue was never weary of
descanting in praise of the flasks of beer, the plantain wine,
the ears of corn, and all the other delicacies with which his
people were feasted.
I will only add that a debt of gratitude is due from the
students of ethnology to the Monbuttoo king, who has been
instrumental in preserving this remnant of a declining race
until the time has come for the very heart of Africa to be
laid open.
DinKaPipe. (See description, vol. i., p. 292.)
CHAPTER XVII.
Return to th,e North. Tikkitikki's reluctance to start. Passage of the Gadda.
Sounding the Keebaly. The river Kahpily. Cataracts of the Keebaly.
Kubby's refusal of boats. Our impatience. Crowds of hippopotamuses.
Possibility of fording the river. Origin and connection of the Keebaly. -
Division of highland and lowland. Geographical expressions of Aiabs and
Nubians. Mohammedan perversions. Return to Nembey. Bivouac in
the border-wilderness. Eating wax. The Niam-niara declare war. Parley
with the enemy. My mistrust of the guides. Treacherous attack on
Mohammed. Mohammed's dangerous wound. Open war. Detruncated
heads. Effect of arrows. Mohammed's defiance. Attack on the abattis.
Pursuit of the enemy. Inexplicable appearance of 10,000 men. Wando's
unpropitious omen. My Niam-niam and their oracle. Mohammed's speedy
ciire. Solar phenomenon. Dogs barbarously speared. Women captured.
Niam-niam affection for their wives. Calamus. Upper course of the
Mbrwole. Fresh captive. Her composure. Alteration in scenery. Arrival
at the Nabambisso.
After a sojourn of three weeks, the 12th of April was fixed
for the raising of our camp and for the departure of our
caravan from the residence of the Monbuttoo king.
For myself it was with a sad and heavy heart that I had
to begin retracing my steps towards the north. How bitter
was my disappointment may well be imagined. I could not
be otherwise than aware that I was leaving behind my only
chance of answering some of those important questions that
might be propounded to me ; and my regret was aggravated
by the conviction that a journey comparatively short would
now have brought me to the sources of the three great rivers
of the west, the only streams that are absolutely closed to
our geographical knowledge, viz, the Benwe, the Ogawai,
and the Congo. Distant as I was hardly more than 450
148 THE HEAllT OF AFRICA.
miles from the limit that had been reached by Livingstone, I
could discern, as 1 fondly imagined, from Munza's residence,
a path clearly open towards the south-west which would
conduct me to the Congo and to the states of the mighty
Mwata Yanvo; it appeared to me to be a path that, once
explored, would solve the remaining problems of the heart of
Africa as decidedly as the sword of Alexander severed the
Gordian knot, and now, just when there was only one more
district to be traversed and that not larger than what we
had already passed since leaving the Gazelle, to be obliged
to abandon further progress and to leave the mysterious
secrets still unravelled was a hardship to which it was
impossible patiently to submit. But there was no alternative,
and, however reluctantly, I had to yield.
I have already spoken of the various obstacles to any
further advance; I must, however, again insist upon my
conviction that any single traveller, provided he had not an
undue proportion of flesh (for to be fat would be fatal), might
march on unhindered down the Welle as far as Baghirmy,
since the population was all well disposed enough as far as
regards the white man. But any attempt to carry on an
entire caravan in that direction would have met with the
most strenuous opposition on the part of King Munza ; his
indirect influence might have enabled travellers to descend
as far to the south as lat. 2° N. ; but for this his sanction
would have had to be purchased by an enormous contribution
of copper.
The first event of the morning of our start occasioned no
small stir amongst the Nubians. Mohammed Aboo Sammat
had established a Seriba in the place, for the garrisoning of
which twenty-eight men had to be left behind, and several
hours elapsed before the necessary conscription could be
accomplished. Apart from myself, depressed as I was by
my disappointment, every one else was elated at the prospect
of returning, so that no penalty could be considered much
TIKKlTIKKrS FAREWELL. 149
heavier than being compelled to tarry in this remote region
for one or two years, and possibly longer, to be the associates
of cannibals ; each man accordingly upon whom the unlucky
destiny chanced to fall received his orders to remain with
the loudest murmurs of dissatisfaction, and the outcry and
contention threatened to be interminable. At length, by
cajoling, by bribing, by promises of ample pay, and, it must
be added, by the representation of the lives of frolic they
would lead with the Monbuttoo women, the malcontents were
persuaded unwillingly to acquiesce in their fate.
It was noon before the column was actually in motion.
The Nubians parted from their companions with the most
touching embraces ; the crowds of chattering Monbuttoo
surrounded the encampment and watched with vivid interest
the thousand gestures of farewell, whilst the negro-bearers,
silent and stolid as ever, set forward on their way.
During this parting scene my little Tikkitikki (as the
Niam-niam called the Pygmy who had been presented to me
a few days previously) was seized with an apparent fit of
home sickness ; he set up such a dismal howling and sobbed
so bitterly that I confess I was for a while undecided whether
I would really carry him away, but I soon discovered that it
was only the uninitiated who could be imposed upon by his
behaviour. He was not bewailing the loss of his home, for
he was utterly ignorant as to where that home had been ;
neither was he deploring his separation from his kinsfolk,
for they stood by, gesticulating wildly, and only mocked at
his distress. The fact was, he was influenced solely by his
dread of strangers. He was in mortal fear of being eaten
up. It very rarely happens among the Monbuttoo that
natives are surrendered to the Nubians for slaves : the
occasion therefore of a present being made of a human
creature would only too readily suggest the thought that
some ulterior destination for cannibal purposes was in view.
Altogether inadequate to appease Tikkitikki's fears as to his
150 THE HEART OF AB^RICA.
approaching fate was the gorgeous silk jacket in whicli I
arrayed him, and it was with no little satisfaction that I
found I could pacify him by offering him the choicest
morsels that I could procure for him to eat. After spending
a few days with me in my tent, and finding himself treated
with all the dainties that the country could produce, he
forgot his troubles, laid aside his apprehensions, and became
as happy as a little prince.
From the splendid thi(;kets upon the banks of the rivulets
which streamed across our path I gathered all the specimens
I could of the flora of this distant land, and all along our'
return journey I lost no available opportunity of contributing
any novelty to my botanical store.
For about five miles we followed the route by which we;
had arrived, proceeding in a north-easterly direction until
we reached the mounds of gneiss that lay before the third
stream. Making a little detour to the left I mounted the
eminences, which were crowned with some fine fig-trees,
whence I could watch our long caravan winding amongst the
plantain-groves ; now and then my view of the cortege would
be obstructed by some rising oil-palms, and finally the train
would disappear in the obscurity of the gallery-forest. The
streams were now much swollen, and their passage entailed
not only a considerable loss of time but some trial of
strength. The paths were so narrow that we were compelled
to proceed in single file, not unfrequently being obliged to
halt in places where the shadows of the forest were far too
light to afford us any protection fiora the raging heat. Upon
these occasions I found a draught from a calabash of plan-
tain-wine very, refreshing. Every now and then I had
recourse to a pipe. Altogether, however, in spite of its in-
conveniences the journey was through scenery so charming
that it could not be otherwise than enjoyable.
After crossing the third brook we made a turn to the
right, thus entering upon a way that was new to us. Having
THE GADDA. 151
traversed an open steppe along the edge of a gallery extend-
ing to the north-east, we encamped at nightfall at a farmstead
near the river Gadda. Half-an-hour's march in the morning
brought us to the river bank.
In its dimensions the Gadda resembles the Wow just
above its junction with the Dyoor, but it does not exhibit
the same periodical changes in the volume of its waters ; its
bed remains full throughout the year, and at this date
(April 13th) I found that it was 155 feet wide and but 3
feet deep, its velocity being 57 feet in a minute. The banks
were bounded by light woods, and the soil not being subject
to any further inundations had only a gentle slope ; the flood-
marks on the shore proved the difference between the highest
and lowest conditions of the river to be 20 feet. The Gadda
has its source far to the south-east, and, flowing across the
dominions of the Monbuttoo king Degberra, joins the
Keebaly : the united streams then receive the name of the
Welle.
Without unnecessary loss of time we forded the sandy
river-bed, and, continuing our march for about another half
hour, arrived at the left bank of the Keebaly. The river here
exhibited much the same character as the Welle at the spot
where we had forded it upon our outward journey, but I
presume it was somewhat narrower, as by trigonometrical
measurement I found that its width was only 325 feet.
By the orders of the king boats were in readiness to con-
vey the caravan across, and the ferrymen did their work so
well and quickly that the entire passage was accomplished
in three hours. While the transit was being effected I took
the opportunity of embarking in a canoe for the purpose of
estimating the depth and velocity of the stream, an operation
in which I was materially assisted by the greater experience
of my servant Mohammed Ameen. In the same way as I
noticed on the Welle, the current was much stronger on the
northern or right sliore ; by throwing a gourd upon the flood
152 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and observing the number of feet it progressed in a minute, 1
estimated the ratio of the currents upon the opposite banks to
be as 15 : 19. Tlie depth was between 12 and 13 feet, and there
were neither rocks nor sand-banks in this part of the river-bed.
As I stood in the long grass superintending the stowage of
the baggage, I was very considerably inconvenienced by the
inquisitiveness of the natives, who persisted in thronging
close around. In order to get free from their intrusion I
was glad to resort to all kinds of artifices, such as throwing
some lighted touchwood amongst them, and treating them to
a few cartridges. After the last bearer had started and
they observed that I still continued to paddle up and down
the stream, their curiosity knew no bounds. Trusting to the
superiority of our firearms and the protection of my own
servants, I felt perfectly secure and enjoyed the bewildered
surprise with which the natives who crowded the banks
surveyed our evolutions. The dexterous swimming and
diving of my Nubians excited the liveliest interest, and every
time the sounding-lead was dipped it was watched as eagerly
as if it were about to draw forth from the deep some treasure
of the Nibelungen.
Northward again. We passed the farmsteads of the local
overseer Parra, crossed the brook Mboolah, and pitched our
camp at a hamlet but a few miles from the stream. The
remainder of the day I spent in botanizing. I made my way
into the thickets, and found some splendid representatives of
such large-leaved plants as the philodendra, calladia, and
marantha, which gleamed with a metallic sheen. The over-
seer was very liberal : he supplied us freely with beer, and
the greater part of the night was spent in friendly intercourse
with the natives, who found, as ever, my hair and my lucifers
to be an uafailing source of interest. Myself the people
designated as "a good man," and, satisfied that I had come
irom the skies, they interpreted my arrival as a token of
peace and happiness.
BOXGWA. 153
Our road on the following day lay through a country that
was generally open, and we had no stream to cross until we
reached the brook Bumba, near the village of Bongwa.
Here we regained our former route. The country .was per-
fectly safe, and I was accordingly able to march with my
own people in the rear of the caravan, and devote my atten-
tion to my botanical researches. The hamlets that we passed
were pleasant resting-places, and as we halted under the
welcome sliade of the foliage, the natives rarely failed to
hasten out and bring fresh plantains for our refresh-
ment.
At Bongwa we made a halt for a whole day, for the pur-
pose of giving the smiths an opportunity of working, as it
was necessary for our copper bars to be transformed into
some thousands of rings. For my own part I found ample
employment in sketching, and in adding what T could to my
store of curiosities. The victualling of the caravan, more-
over, had become a matter of increased difficulty; it was
now the season for planting out, and all the roots and tubers
which the natives had spared from the preceding year had
just been put into the ground, so that there was a general
scarcity of provisions ; a fact that was brought home to our
own experience, when we found that the yams that were
supplied to us had already commenced throwing out their
fresh sprouts.
Eetracing our former track we crossed by fording the six
approximate streams that it may be remembered I noticed
on our advance. On our arrival at Nembey's residence, we
at once found shelter in the camp-huts that had been erected
at our last visit, and which were still in a very fair state of
preservation. I took a long ramble and made a careful
inspection of the phmtations of sugar-cane in the adjoining
wildernesses upon the river-banks ; my first impression was
that the canes were a rank spontaneous growth, but I was
distinctly and repeatedly assured tliat they were nowhere, bv
154 THE HEART OF AFllICA.
any chance, found wild, and would not thrive without the aid
of man.
Wando's territory was before us. It now became a matter
of serious consideration how our progress across that hostile
district should be accomplished. Mohammed's first sugges-
tion was that we should take a circuitous rqute far to the
east, and then that he should himself return with his armed
forces strengthened by a complement from his head Seriba
on the Nabambisso, and thus proceed to resque the store of
ivory that had been entrusted to Wando's care. To this
scheme no doubt there were various objections. The new
route would be entirely unknown to the Nubians, and as,
beyond a question, it would lead across wildernesses utterly
void of any population, the caravan would necessarily have
to endure no small measure of privation. In any case
trustworthy guides wouM be necessary in order that the
caravan might arrive at its destination in any seasonable
time. Notwithstanding all difficulties, Mohammed resolved
to attempt to penetrate to the eastern Moubuttoo country,
although for this purpose we should be obliged to recross the
Keebaly. Nembey was tributary to Degberra, the king of
the eastern Monbuttoo, and it had been necessary for
IMohammed thus to proceed in the first place to his village ;
the fact being that the enmity between Munza and Degberra
was so bitter that there was no possibility of passing directly
from the territory of one to that of the other. We started
accordingly, and the whole train having crossed the brook
Kussumbo, we turned to the south-east along an open steppe,
and proceeded for about half a league until we reached a
deep hollow from which there issued one of the smaller
tributaries of the Kussumbo, This hollow was formed by
one of the landslips so common in this part of Africa, caused
by the gradual washing away from below of the ferruginous
swamp-ore, which was here at least 50 feet thick. The depth
of the defile itself was about 80 feet ; its sides were enveloped
THE KAHPILY. 155
in dense bushes, and the masses of rock which were quite
homogeneous were adorned with a covering of hitherto un-
known fern of the genus adiantum, which, in spots like this,
clothes the reeking stones with a complete down of feathery-
fronds.
Another half league across the steppe and I was surprised
to find that we were on the banks of a copious river that
about eight miles to the south-west joined the Keebaly. As-
tonished at the sight of the rushing waters I turned to my
Monbuttoo guide, and, availing myself of the few words in his
dialect with which I was familiar, I asked him "^a eggu
rukodassi ? " (What do you call that river ?) From his reply
I discovered that it was the Kahpily, not the Keebaly. The
similar sound of the names of these two collateral streams
warned me afresh how carefully the traveller should render
the names of rivers which he hears ; time passes on and the
names of places are changed with their chiefs, but the names
of their rivers are handed on by the Africans from genera-
tion to generation as long as their language and nationality
remain unaltered ;* only where these change do the names
of the rivers fall into oblivion. The Kahpily has a rapid
current from north-east to south-west; its depth here was
only 4 feet, but its bed, 40 feet in width, and its steep rocky
walls, 40 feet in height, demonstrated that this important
stream must be subject to a considerable increase in its
volume. In my own mind I was convinced that all these
rivers, meeting within so limited an area, must have their
sources in some mountain region at no great distance, little
* It may be objected that this theory does not hold good for many parts of
Central Africa. Barth (vol. iii., p. 266) gives twelve instances to prove that
all the tribes of the Central Soudan have no other distinctions for any of their
streams beyond the general terms of " water " or river. But I must be per-
mitted to urge that the Arabs of the Eastern Soudan have their Atbara,
Sobat, &c. At any rate, the people amongst whom I travelled, especially tlio
Niam-niam and the Monbuttoo, formed remarkable exceptions, for they in
variably gave all localities the names of the adjacent rivers or brooks.
150 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
as the aspect of tlie surrounding country seemed to warrant
the supposition. It was evident to my mind that the Kah-
pily must rise near the source-streams of the Dyoor, and
from a mountain-chain extending to the south-east from
Baginze, a district which would appear to be the nucleus
of a whole series of source-streams that flow thence to the
north and west,
AVhile the caravan was being carefully conducted across
the river by means of an immeuse stem of a tree that
stretched over from bank to bank, I enjoyed a refi*eshing
bath in the foaming waters. Proceeding next in the direc-
tion of E.S.E., we passed over a level steppe. As we
approached the river that next intercepted us we found that
we were on the recent track of a lion ; the vestiges in the
red clay were all so well-defined that the natives, with their
keen hunting instinct, pronounced without hesitation that
they had been made by an aged male. The steppes extend
for a long distance along the right bank of the Keebaly
without being relieved by human habitations, and the dis-
trict naturally abounds with game. Herds of leucotis ante-
lopes animated the plain and tempted me to devote an
hour to the chase. Drenched with perspiration, almost as if
I were in the tumult of a battle, and aimlessly following the
impulse of the moment, I pushed my way through the tall
savannah-grass. Hunting in Africa may be fairly described
to be one continual whirl and scramble ; the very abundance
of game confuses the vision ; one object of attraction rises
rapidly after another, and baffles any attempt at deliberation.
After considerable perseverance I succeeded in bringing
down a buck antelope, much to the astonishment of the
natives, who were watching my movements from the road,
and persisted to the last in questioning the efficiency of my
firearms. I hit a second antelope, but did not kill it. It
was pursued by the natives for many miles, and only just
before sunset did they succeed in surrounding it so that they
THE TRUMPET-TREE. 157
could despatch it by means of their lances. In the middle
of the night I was called up, and naturally supposed that
something serious had transpired, but I soon discovered that
the reason why my rest had been disturbed was merely
that I might be shown the mark of my bullet in the animal's
thigh. The men insisted upon my feeling the depth of the
wound with my finger, and seemed unable to comprehend
that they were showing me nothing that was new.
A little rivulet, called the Kambeley, wound down a hollow
incline of which the sides were indented with many a vale of
diflfereot level. The sides of tlie hollow were covered for a
considerable height with a tangled jungle from which the
great leaves of the trumpet-tree (Cecropia) rose like brilliant
fans ; and interwoven amongst its thickets there was a new
species of palm, something akin to the rotang, of which every
leaf terminated in a long spray, armed with prickles, like a
pike-hook. From this palm the Monbuttoo cut canes as
thick as their arms, which are reputed to be so difficult to
break that they are not unfrequently used as a criterion in
testing strength. Above the primeval wood the narrow
valley was crowned with a number of small and graceful
huts. Altogether the spot was so romantic and wnld, and
yet withal it had an air of so much snug and cosy comfort,
that it seemed to entice one to choose it for his home.
At this point our caravan was joined by a party of
people sent by Kubby, one of Degberra's sub-chieftains, from
beyond the Keebaly, to open ivory transactions with BIo-
hammed, a circumstance that boded us no good, and forbade
us from being in any way sanguine of a liospitable reception
from Kubby. This half-way meeting was only a blind ; it
was a pretext to prevent us from alleging that his subsequent
refusal to allow us to cross the river was actuated by any
hostile motive. An African chief always likes to have a
loophole as long as it is doubtful whether peace is preferable
to war.
158 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
The o-round, with its continual indentations, slanted gradually
downwards as we approached the great river. Several
ravines and clefts with their flowing source-springs had to
be traversed before we reached the river bank, and even
then, with the roar of the cataract close beside us, we were
obliged to trace and retrace our steps up and down the shore
before we could find a suitable place for an encampment.
At this date (April 18th) the Keebaly filled a bed more
than 1200 feet in width. The main current followed the
left or southern shore, along which a great bank of gneiss
lay exposed, now stretched out in wide flats, and now piled
up in countless fragments like huge lumps of ice. The
extreme height of this bank never exceeded fifty feet, while
the northern bank, on which we had our station, was covered
with the most splendid forest and rose to a height of at
least a hundred feet. Higher up, the stream was parted into
numerous channels, and amidst these was a profusion of
woody islands, against which the foaming waters broke,
throwing the sparkle of their spray into the darkness of the
thicket.* The channels appeared to be all quite navigable,
although the sound of the rapids could be distinctly heard.
" Kissingah " is the general name by which these rapids are
distinguished ; but the Monbuttoo are accustomed simply to
refer to them as " the islands." We could observe the
conical roofs of the fishing-huts peeping out from amidst the
foliage, and noticed the canoes of the unfriendly natives
darting rapidly across from one islet to another. Not one,
however, of these fishing-boats came near us ; nor was there
the least indication of the coming of any of Kubby's mes-
sengers to assist us in our passage across the stream. We
became aware only too soon of a resolution to obstruct our
progress, the cause of, which was readily to be explained.
* The accompanying drawing, taken on tlie spot, will convey a conect idea
of the scene.
THE KEEBALY. • 159
Poncet's (subsequently Ghattas's) company had a Seriba in
Kubby's district, and the Nubians who had been left in
charge had succeeded in inducing the chief to refuse us the
assistance of his boats, for no other reason whatever than
that they feared Mohammed's competition with themselves,
and that they were eager to monopolize the entire ivory-
trade of the district.
For the next day we waited on. No boats arrived. This
waste of time suited the plans neither of Mohammed nor of
fnyself. Our provisions, moreover, were getting low. There
was no prospect of revictualling. Accordingly our resolution
was taken : without delay we would return to Nembey.
During the day of indecision, I exerted myself as best I
could to explore the wildernesses of the Keebaly. My
attention was chiefly attracted by a fragrant erinum, in shape
and size resembling a white lily. The diversity of the trees
seemed almost endless, and I was especially amazed at the
variety of the anonaceae and fig-trees, of which I found little
short of forty species.
An infallible proof of the size and copiousness of the river
was afforded by the number of hippopotamuses that were
floundering about. I amused myself by clambering along
the smooth rocks that projected into the water, and testing
my bullets on the hides of the unwieldy brutes ; having an
ample store of ammunition, for which there did not seem to
be much demand in the way of regular hunting, I fired away
over the surface of the water, for the hour together. My
sport created a vivid sensation amongst the natives upon the
opposite bank, for although they had the prudence to keep
carefully out of sight, they could not resist surreptitiously
spying at our camp from behind their bushes ; they mani-
fested their surprise at the enormous range covered by my
rifles, being acquainted only with the guns of the Nubians,
the best of which could not carry half the distance.
The waters of the Keebaly have the repute of affording a
160 THE HEART OF AFIUCA.
home to a very remarkable animal tbat has never been
observed in any of the streams that rise from the Nile basin.
The Nubians, who have a habit of calling anything with
which they are not familiar by whatever name may come
uppermost at the moment, have given this animal the desig-
nation of a " Kharoof-el-bahr," or river-sheep; they describe
it in such a way that there can be little doubt that it is a
manatus or lamantin (probably M. Vogellii), which is so
frequently found in the rivers of Western Africa that flow
into the Atlantic. My short and unsettled sojourn on the
Keebaly prohibited me from securing, out of these tropical
source-streams, a specimen of this strange representative of
the Sirenia family.
I am perfectly certain that if Mohammed had pleased he
could have forced his way across the river. The dexterous
Nubians had but to swim over with their guns upon their
heads, and they could readily have taken possession of the
canoes which, too large and cumbrous to be transported by
land, were concealed in the thickets upon the opposite shore.
I merely mention this to illustrate my opinion that, with a
company of Nubians, the great African rivers in themselves
offer no insuperable obstacles to a resolute traveller.
As already affirmed, the Keebaly is to be considered as
the main stream of the river that, in its lower course, is
known as the Welle. Before quitting it we may do well to
give our brief attention to the geographical questions that
are associated with this discovery.
In the accounts collected from his agents, and published
by Poucet, the river is called the Boora or Baboora ;* but as
I never heard this name, I can only surmise that Poncet's
informants had somehow misunderstood or misinterpreted the
regular name Keebaly or Keebary. In the same way I
* In many Central African dialects, suck as the Baghirmy and Bongo, the
monosylluble " ba " means " river."
THE KEEBALY. 161
never heard anything of a king mentioned under the name
of Kagooma, or of a tribe called the Onguroo. The Nubians
seem never to recollect the native names of rivers, and
invariably pronounce all names whatever most incorrectly ;
the information derived from that quarter is of little value
to the geographer, and it is very much to be regretted that
the most travelled and experienced leaders of the Khartoom
expeditions should have failed so much in acquiring definite
details ; had it been otherwise, their knowledge would have
been of great assistance in laying down more complete and
accurate maps of the country.
The probability that the Keebaly and tlie Welle are
identical with the upper course of the Shary appears to
become at once almost a positive certainty when we ask the
counter-question, " If this is not the Shary, whence does the
Shary come?" All that we know and all that we do not
know about the north and north-western districts conspire to
satisfy us that in that direction there is neither a sufficient
reservoir, nor an adequate space, for the development of a
network of streams large enough to form a river which is
half a mile broad at its mouth, and which fills a lake as
large as the whole of Belgium. The waters of the Welle,
however, do not rise till April, while the Shary occasionally
rises in March. In order to explain this earlier rising of
the lower river, we seem to be compelled to adopt the
supposition that there must be some second main stream
which issues from a latitude more southerly than the Kee-
baly. Quite insignificant are the two affluents, the Nalobey
and the Nomayo, which the river receives on the left from
the south of Munza's territory.
There can be little doubt about the real origin of the
Keebaly. Although, as delineated on my map, the river
has a position as though it issued directly from the north-
west angle' of the Mwootan Lake (Albert Nyanza), nothing
was more remote from my intention than to jump to such a
162 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
precipitate conclusion ; there was nothing either in the
nature of the river and its tributaries, or in the information
I'eceived from the various natives, whicli could, in any way,
justify such a hypothesis. On the contrary, I am quite con-
vinced of the correctness of Baker's statement. I entirely
(ioncur with his view that Lake Mwootan is the great basin
of the Nile, and that the Bahr-el-Gebel is its only outlet.
That Lake Mwootan, simply on account of its abundance of
water, must necessarily have several outlets, and that the Ayi
(the river which Baker calls the Ye) is one of those outlets,
is only a geographical chimera which, in the Old World
at least, has no analogy, and which would only be admitted
to the theories of dilettanti. According to Baker's measure-
ment Lake Mwootan (Albert Nyanza) is 2720 feet above the
level of the sea. But by comparing the rapids of the Keebaly
with the height of Munza's residence (2707 feet), which has
been verified by the most rigid scientific appliances, I have
ascertained that they are almost on the same level as the
lake. The river and the lake being thus at the same altitude
constitutes- decisive evidence that the Keebaly does not
issue from the lake, from which it is distant about 170
miles.
All the rivers that were embraced within the compass of
my journey appeared to me to have their source in the spur
of the Galla- Abyssinian highlands, through which the Bahr-
el-Gebel passes in the Madi country. Those which belong to
the Nile system would seem to spring from the mountains of
Koshi on the north of Lake Mwootan, whilst those which are
tributary to the Shary have their source in what Baker
designates the Blue Mountains, which he observed to the
north-west of the lake. Including the Mfumbiro group on
the north of Lake Tanganyika — that group which under
Speke's name of " the Mountains of the Moon," has obtained
a certain geographical notoriety — this mountain system
apparently forms a section of that conspicuous terrace-chain
THE KEEBALY. 163
which (with the only exceptions of the Niger source-territory
and the lofty isolated coast ranges by the equator) divides
the continent of Africa, not according to the prevailing idea
into a northern and southern, but into an eastward and west-
ward half of highland and lowland. The highland embraces
a large number of inland lakes, some of which allow their
waters to escape most diffusely, whilst others appear to have
no outlet at all. Many of these lakes are found close to the
western ridge of the high ground. Besides the Keebaly,
the Lualaba amongst other rivers may be named as forcing
its way through the mountains of Eua, and apparently flow-
ing in a westerly direction towards the lowland. If we
imagine a prolonged line to cut the entire continent from
Massowa to Mossamedes, it would coincide almost pre-
cisely with the terrace-chain of which I have spoken ; it
would answer very much to a corresponding line of division
between the highlands and lowlands of South America which,
like an Africa turned right over, has its coast-chain on the
western side.
Nurtured as I had been upon the banks of the Diina, my
earliest memories were associated with the aspect of a majestic
river with its foaming waves, and it was consequently with no
ordinary pleasure that I gazed upon this stream which
hitherto no white man had ever beheld. I retain the most
vivid recollection of the last evening that I spent upon the
banks of the Keebaly, when both time and place contributed
to provoke a geographical discussion. The Nubians are
always ready to talk about rivers. They will enlarge freely
upon their source, their aspect, and their connection ; but,
carried away by their imagination, they never fail to repre-
sent their own incomparable Nile as par excellence the river
of rivers, the very spring and reservoir of all the goodliest
waters of the earth. A compendium of all their geographical
delusions would form an interesting study, and might furnish
a key to many antiquated traditions. It is well known that
164 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the Nubians and Arabians always give the narae of "island "
to the projecting point of land which lies at the confluence
of any two rivers ; thus Sennaar would be described as the
" island " between the White and the Blue Nile ; and it was
in the same sense that the ancients applied the name to
Meroe, the land between the Nile and the Atbara. It is
a matter of remark again that the Nubians are accustomed
to invert, as it were, the upward and downward courses of a
stream, and to describe the confluence of two rivers as the
separation of the main stream into two branches. This
habit may possibly • account for the frequent mention of
"arms" in all their descriptions of their rivers: it is in
accordance moreover with the practice of the ancients, who
referred to the junction of the White and Blue Nile at
Khartoom as a partition of the entire stream, "uhi Nilus
iterum hifurcus ; " a notion probably only derived from the
habitual expressions of the natives which would thus appear
to have remained unaltered for many centuries.
A corresponding difference between the Nubian mode of
expression and our own is observable in all their allusions
to the motions of rivers, and they would speak, for example,
of the Nile as going towards, and not as descending from the
mountains. On the bank of the Keebaly I sat discussing
the topic of river-systems with Mohammed Aboo Sammat
and his people ; but as we argued over the many hydro-
graphical problems that were yet unsolved I detected him
in the most flagrant contradictions. At length, losing my
patience, I desired him to show me with his hand which way
he supposed the Keebaly to flow ; the whole party simul-
taneously motioned towards the east, and turning to the west
declared that that was the direction from which the river
came. Startled from my composure, I rated tiiera soundly
upon their inconsistencies. " Why, you Mussulmen," I said,
"twist and turn everything upside down. We can compre^
hend you in nothing. What is sin with us is righteousness
NUBIAN INCONSISTENCY. 165
with you. The day you call night.* In your Eamadan, you
fast during the daytime ; we do all our fasting at night. Go
to a strange place and you expect the people to be the first to
visit you. Go to a feast and you take the place of the host,
and treat the servants to their beer. Your bridegrooms, too,
you make them pay for their brides instead of taking them
with a dowry of their own. You talk of what is 'pure and
impure ; ' but for yourselves you are always dirty. Your
names for colour are contradictions ; ' akhdar ' is green and
grey ; ' azrak ' is both blue and black. You call your
drums trumpets ; t and your trumpets drums. J In bed you
wrap up your heads and leave your feet uncovered. To tell
the truth, I could go on and enumerate a hundred of your
vagaries, and I can only wonder that you do not stand on
your heads and eat with your feet." The incredible con-
fusion in the ideas of this people involves the traveller in
continual tedious explanations. Speke § complains in the
same way about the geographical blunders of his retinue.
We made our way back to Nembey by the same route that
we had come. Before regaining the place we very narrowly
escaped coming into collision with the inhabitants of some
hamlets through which we passed. The entire caravan for
some days past had been placed upon reduced rations, and
when some of the bearers caught sight of the manioc roots
that had been planted close to the dwellings, the temptation
of pulling them up was too great to be resisted. The women
were highly indignant, assailed the offenders lustily, and
shrieked at them with the loudest imprecations. The caravan
came to a standstill. As those in the rear never knew what
was happening in front, Mohammed, attended by his body-
guard, hurried up to inquire into the cause of the disturb-
ance. Having ascertained the circumstances, he came to
•* Referring to the Soudan Arabic word " to-day," which is literally " in tlie
night."
t Drombeta. J Tamboor. § Ftrfe 'Speke's Journal,' p 90.
166 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the resolution tliat it would be his best policy to make
an example of the thieves. Accordingly he gave his
instructions, and the delinquents received a sound thrashing
with the kurbatch, while the injured women looked on with
miufrled satisfaction and derision.
On arriving at Nembey we found our grass camp-huts in
flames, the inhabitants having set fire to them as a token of
their sense of having had enough of our company. They had
evidently no wish for us to tarry among them any longer.
Without halting, therefore, we continued our march, re-
crossed the Kussumbo, and, towards dark, reached the last
of the villages before the frontier wilderness, where I and
my people found comfortable accommodation in a large shed
belonging to the local chief. We were here informed that
Wando was bent upon our destruction, the entire population
of the frontier being already in arms, and the women and
children having been removed to a place of safety.
Mohammed by this time had been driven, however un-
willingly, to the conclusion that he had neither competent
guides nor adequate provisions to enable him to carry out
his original project of avoiding the enemy's territory by
taking a circuitous route to the east. There was no alter-
native for us except to continue our old road over the wil-
derness that bounded the frontier. Meanwhile, repeated
showers of rain had fallen, and had contributed very much
to the difficulty of crossing the swamps by making them
unusually humid. So much time was occupied in convey-
ing the caravan across the brook that bounded the Monbuttoo
district that I had leisure to make a sketch of the gallery-
forest, which, however, very inadequately represents the
splendour of its luxuriance.*
• The annexed woodcut is too minute to represent the details, but it may
give some idea of the plantain-groves iu the obscurity of these forests. T^Je
oumbrous stems are thickly overgrown with wild pepper, and the spreading
branches are loaded with long bead moss (Usnea), and with that remarkable
Id
i
AFRICAN BEESWAX. 167
The sun was still high when we made our first camp in
the wilderness. We were upon the third of the gallery-
brooks. Since our former visit new blossoms had unfolded
themselves, and seemed to give a fresh aspect to the scene.
In every quarter of the thickets, gleaming like torches, there
rose the imposing clusters of the combretum, with its large
bright-red bracteae; and, as if to rival them in splendour,
every branch of the spathodea put forth a thyrsus of large
orange-coloured balls.
In the midst of my enjoyment, as I was admiring the
beauties all around me, I was startled by a cry, like a shout
of triumph, that came from a party of our negroes who were
scouring the woods in the hope of securing something good
to eat. I hurried in the direction of the sound, and found
the men all clustered round the stem of a tree, to which
they were busily applying firebrands. Having discovered
a quantity of honey in a hollow tree, they adopted the most
effectual measures to secure their treasure, and very soon
the honey, the "wax, and the very bodies of the bees them-
selves were indiscriminately devoured. If any one could
persuade the inhabitants of Centi-al Africa .to desist from
their habit of consuming this wax, he would do no small
service towards accelerating the civilization of the continent.
At present, with the exception of ivory, no article of traffic
from these districts repays its transport: but the inex-
haustible supply of wax from these districts might be made
the object of a productive trade. Hitherto Abyssinia and
Benguela have been the only countries that have supplied
any considerable quantities of this valuable product; yet
the demand for real beeswax in the lands alone that are
lichen to which I have given the name of elephant's ear: high among the
houghs are the huge dwellings of the tree-termes. Some stems, already
decayed, serve as supports for immense garlands of Mucuna, and, overhung by
impenetrable foliage, form roomy bowers where dull obscurity reigns supreme.
Such is the home of the chimpanzee.
168 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
subject to the orthodox Greek Church, where it is the only
material allowed for church lights, is almost unbounded.
The ruins of the grass-huts beside the broad meadow-
water brought back to our recollection the melancholy night
of rain which we had to endure upon our outward journey.
The spot was, if possible, more miserable and dejected now.
Neither leaves nor grass could be obtained in sufficient
quantity for our need. Trees had to be felled to make a
path across the swamp, and even then, go carefully as we
would, the mud was much above our knees. If the enemy
had been sagacious enough to attack us under those adverse
circumstances, we should have fallen an easy prey.
In another two days we should pass the enemy's border.
The very expectation seemed to awaken our impatience, and
we started off at early dawn. Already we could trace the
footprints of our antagonists' outposts, who had been seen
some distance along the road to watch for our approach.
Towards noon we came to the official declaration of war,
consisting, as I have previously described, of the maize, the
feather, and the arrow, hung across our path, as the emblems
of defiance. There was something of the anxiety of suspense
as we found ourselves at the partition brook which marked
off Wando's territory. Aware of the danger of venturing
rashly into the pathless thickets, our cautious leader ordered
a general halt. Small detachments were first despatched to
reconnoitre and to clear the way. As soon as they had
satisfied themselves that all was safe, the signal was given
by the trumpets, and the column of bearers was set in
motion. The crowd of women were not permitted to march
as usual in single file, but for the sake of compactness were
gathered in a mass and strode on, trampling down whatever
vegetation came in their way ; the chaos of confusion was
indescribable ; the shrill chatter of their voices mingled
harshly with the clatter of their pots and pans; while
above all rose the bellowing of the orders and the louder
A PARLEY. 169
volley of the oaths of the Nubians, who marched on with
their guns in one hand, but making good use of their rods
and kurbatches with the other.
Safely through the wood, we reached an open steppe. We
were in sight of the enemy's position, and once again a halt
was called. The occasional gleaming of a spear in the grass,
or the waving of a plume upon a Niam-niam's hat, made us'
aware that we were not far from the presence of the foe.
They seemed to be in a wide semicircle, that embraced the
front of our halting-ground. There was, however, something
in their demeanour that appeared to indicate a desire on
their part for a parley. The interpreters therefore were sent
forward, the trumpeter Inglery at their head ; Mohammed
himself soon followed, and a conference ensued. The natives
all this time took careful cognizance of the range of the
Khartoomers' guns, and did not seem disposed to approacli
nearer than was requisite to understand what was said.
As the parley proceeded, and we saw the parties approxi-
mate nearer to each other, we began to expect a favourable
termination of the interview. It turned out that the men
with whom Mohammed was treating were representatives of
the districts adjoining the A-Madi, the Nabanda Yuroo. They
declared that though they were subject to Wando they had
really no share in his hostile intentions; they were anxious
to guard themselves against the mischief that might befall
them from their proximity to the scene of war, and conse-
quently were only pleading " for their hearths and homes."
Mohammed was inclined to listen to their plea, although he
was reckoning without his host. Meanwhile some of the
actual belligerents arrived, and professed that they could
o-ive us a safe conduct across the country, declaring that they
were well aware where Wando had deposited Mohammed's
ivory, and upon these pretexts they urged Mohammed to
accept them as guides.
I could not resist making my way up to Mohammed as he
170 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
stood surrounded by his guard, and giving his instructions to
the interpreters, in order that I might point out to him the
advantage of his position. I wanted him to understand how
much better it woukl be to secure all these men as hostages
than to trust to their promises and proposals ; but he made
light of my apprehensions, afiSrming that savages were all
cowards and afraid of war, and that he had no doubt everv-
thing would come right at last.
Without further delay the A-Banga were then permitted
to escort us to their villages on the other side of the brook,
where, in spite of the suspicious absence of all the women
and children, we received an abundant supply of provisions,
and I was presented with a good store of the flesh of some
eland-antelopes, which the natives had killed on the day
before. In reality, these people amply deserved a thorough
chastisement at our hands for the massacre of our women
slaves during our outward journey, but Mohammed, under
• the hope of obtaining a safe transit and recovering his ivory,
thought it more diplomatic to overlook the ofi'ence.
Before sunrise next morning all were in readiness to pro-
ceed. The day proved to myself to be one of the few unlucky
days that marred the general good fortune that attended my
enterprise. A slight mishap befell me in crossing the iirst
brook, which was but the precursor of a more serious trouble
to come. In crossing a swamp I fell into a deep quagmire,
from which I scrambled out witli everything upon me except
my hat covered with the blackest and filthiest of mire.
With all my might I shouted to my servants to bring me
clean dry clothes. My outcry raised an alarm that spread
to the rear. There arose an impression that I had been
wounded, and in a short time half the caravan had crowded
round. Order having been restored, we proceeded on our way.
deviating, however, a little from our previous route, and
passing numerous villages and cultivated spots. Owing to
irregularities in the soil our caravan became somewhat broken,
ABOO SAMMAT WOUNDED. 171
and it was deemed advisable to make a halt near the huts of
the next local overseer, for the double purpose of gathering
the stragglers, and of allowing an interval for the morning
meal.
Starting afresh, Mohammed, led the way. He was himself
unarmed, but he was attended by his young armour-bearers,
and followed by a detachment of his black body-guard.
Next in order and close behind were the men whose media-
tion and offers of guidance had. yesterday been accepted.
Somehow or other I coukl not get rid of my presentiment
that these fellows were not to be trusted, and accordingly,
contrary to my custom, I took good care to keep my trusty
rifle in my hand. It struck me as very remarkable that in
the villages which we passed the men, women, and children
were all assembled in crowds, and calmly watched our pro-
gress, just as though there was no rumour or thought of war.
After about half a league I was at the head of a column
of bearers, but I had fallen some hundred paces behind
Mohammed. All at once several shots fired in rapid suc-
cession made me aware that something unusual had happened
in front. Looking to the right I saw some natives rushing
away at full speed across the steppes ; a hasty fire was
opened upon the fugitives, and their savage yells of pain
betrayed that some of them were wounded, although they
contrived to make good their escape. Another moment and
I caught sight of Mohammed being carried back towards us
with a broad streak of blood across his white sash, and close
beside were the two little armour-bearers writhing with their
faces to the ground, their backs pierced by the native lances.
It was a ghastly sight. Dashing up to jMobaramed I ripped
up his clothes, and discovered at a glance that my poor
friend had received a deep spear-cut in his thigh. " I did not
lose an instant in adopting what measures I could. As fate
would have it, I had a box of insect needles in my pocket.
Water, of which we were always careful to have a supply,
Vol. II.— 13.
17'2 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
was close at hand. Mohammed's own muslin scarf was jnst
the thing for a bandage. Having carefully been washed, and
then bound together with half-a-dozen of the strongest of the
pins, and finally enveloped in the scarf and tied with yarn,
the gaping wound was completely dressed, and began to heal
almost as soon as it was closed.
The sad event had occurred in this way. One of the pre-
tended guides forced his way between Mohammed and his
young shield-bearers, and brandishing his lance cried out,
" The people of Yuroo are for peace ; we are for war."
Mohammed instinctively made a sidelong movement to escape
the falling blow, and thus probably saved his life. Mean-
while the other natives attacked the boys and stabbed
them between the shoulders. Although Mohammed had
escaped the direct blow that was designed, the huge lance,
with its head a foot and a half in length, had sunk deep into
his flesh. With the fortitude of desperation he dragged the
murderous weapon from the wound, hurled it after the fugi-
tive assassin, and then fell senseless to the earth. The
injury caused by the barbs of the spear (which were an
inch long) was miserably aggravated by the impetuous fury
with which the weapon was extracted. The wound was broad
and deep enough to admit my whole hand, and had only just
escaped the kidney, which was visible through the open
flesh.
In their first surprise at the sudden attack, Mohammed's
personal retinue had fired almost at random after the fugitive
traitors; but as their guns were only loaded with deer-shot,
they for the most part hit the enemy without killing them.
Immediately updn this there ensued a general chase, and
during the time that I was engaged in binding up Moham-
med's wound, I could hear the reports of firearms along the
whole line of our procession.
And now again a halt was ordered, the columns of bearers
were collected, their loads were deposited in piles upon the
HOSTILITIES. 173
fjround. and tlie signal was given for a general plunder. Joy-
fully enough was the order hailed ; it was especially welcome
to the hungry Bongo after their scanty fare on the previous
days.
As a proof that the natives were in league together, I
noticed that directly after the treacherous attack upon
Mohammed, all spectators disappeared from the road ; and
although the Nubians, considering themselves perfectly jus-
tified in taking what slaves they could, went in pursuit of
women and children, I did not. see that their exertions were
attended with any success. They secured a number of un-
fortunate boys, but they let them loose again, persecuting
them with gun-shot and lances as they took to flight. The
air rung with their shrieks, and it was only the long grass,
I cannot doubt, that prevented my seeing not a few of these
undeserving victims sink and die upon the earth.
Within an hour not only were the granaries of the villages
around so effectually ransacked that abundance of corn was
piled up around our quarters, but the villages themselves
were involved in flames. With an expedition quite astonish-
ing, the conical roofs were removed from the nearest huts
and employed in the construction of an improvised camp for
ourselves, which was subsequently surrounded by a substan-
tial abattis. The woodwork from the adjacent dwellings
furnished the material for this defence, which we presumed
might be necessary in case of attack.
Meantime our fighting force was adequate to keep the
natives, who had assembled to do battle with us as in-
truders, at a safe distance from our camp, wheie our own
negroes were busily storing whatever they had captured.
While this was going on some of the fighting men came in,
and approaching their chieftain, who, wrapped in wet
bandages, was reclining on a couch beneath a tree, laid at his
feet their first trophies of war, consisting of several heads of
the A-B:inga. It was in the first excitement of battle that
174 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
these heads had been taken off tlie bodies of the fallen, and
in revenge for the slaughterous attack upon Mohammed ;
but throughout the whole period of hostility, although some
twenty natives were killed, this was the first and last in-
stance that came under my notice of the barbarous custom.
All the negroes attached to our caravan had a superstitious
horror of the practice of decapitating the dead, and the
Nubians would have deemed themselves defiled by touching
the corpse of a heathen. As no value appeared in any
quarter to be attached to the heads I appropriated them
to myself, and was thus able to add to the variety of my
collection of skulls.
The scene of these adventures was witliin gunshot of a
bank thicket, through the deep hollow of which flowed a
copious brook that a little farther north joined the Assika.
On the opposite bank, which was considerably higher than
the side on which we were encamped, there were several
groups of hamlets scattered about the open plain, and be-
tween these numbers of armed men could be distinguished
hurrying about, the precise object of whose activity we were
at a loss to determine. Amongst the Nubians who were
with us were some of the stoutest and most resolute men in
the whole of Aboo Sammat's corps, and these had come to
the resolution that they would force their way through the
natives who might be hidden in the jungle, cross the brook.
and carry an attack over to the opposite bank. All the
ivory that had been purchased on the outward route and
deposited in the land seemed to be in peril of being lost,
and it Avas the conviction of the Nubians that their only
chance now of recovering their property was by capturing
some of the native women, who would have to be redeemed.
Things seemed to promise favourably for the undertaking.
The soil was suitable, the network of brooks and trenches
interspersed with grass plots opened certain facilities for
encompassing an adversary, and if the Nubians had acted
ARROWS OF THE A-BANGA. 175
with greater determination they could hardly have failed in
securing the desired hostages, but the passage across the
woods on the river-banks was their first difficulty. They had
to contend at a great disadvantage, for they could only
squander their bullets uselessly or at random among the
trees ; while the natives from their lurking-places could do
good and sure execution with their spears and arrows.
I accompanied our party of assailants for some distance,
and had a better opportunity than had ever presented itsell'
before of observing the effect of the native arrows. The
arrows that had wooden heads I observed to have a range of
at least 300 paces, and to fall with scarcely a sound ; such as
had iron tips on the contrary came whizzing through the air,
but would not carry half the distance ; these appeared only
to be used when the natives felt tolerably sure of their
aim.
The A-Banga have a war-dress and equipments that would
seem to be entirely derived from the Monbuttoo : they dance
and jump about behind the bushes as if they were taking
part in a pantomime, generally trying to keep a crouching
posture, and only rising to discharge their arrows. The
storm of arrows which they hurled against us as we advanced
fell like strays from a waggon-load of straw, and yet our
enemy could not be detected anywhere, excepting at intervals
a form would be seen to rush across as it changed its place of
ambush. Just at the beginning of the fray one of our side
was struck by a wooden arrow in rather a remarkable way ;
the point, which was some inches long and as hard as iron,
having caught the inner corner of his eye, remained sticking
close to the side of the lachrymal cavity ; the fellow roared
out lustily, but he was found to have sustained no serious
hurt. It Avas said that a casualty of this kind was by no
means unusual, because the natives always aimed at the eye
as the most vulnerable quarter ; but as the arrows are very
light, and have to describe a curve before thev can reach
176 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
their mark, I should presume their destination is altogether
a matter of chance.
On the border of the wood, close to the pathway as it
emerged, some of the more courageous of the natives made a
stand and received our people with gestures of defiance,
brandishing their weapons, and tossing their plumed heads.
From the thickets beyond, the war-cries of those who weie
less venturesome could be distinctly heard, and from the dis-
tance, beyond again, resounded the clang of the kettledrums.
One of the savages sprang forward towards us, and holding
up his shield denounced us with a volley of maddened
imprecations. A bullet quickly pierced alike his shield and
his breast, and he sank mute and senseless to the earth. A
second ventured forward, but only to succumb to the same
fate. Then the savages thought it was time to retreat, and
accordingly wheeling round they disappeared into the
obscurity of the wood, where the rustle of the foliage gave
witness to a general flight. Now was the opportunity to
cross, of which the Nubians took advantage, but though they
reached the farmsteads without opposition they could only
fire into the air without an aim, as though they were greeting
the new moon after the fast of Ramadan.
For myself curiosity alone had led me on. I had no war-
like ardour, I had no feeling of vengeance against the
natives, and consequently I took no personal share in this
mild skirmish, but those who were present delighted after-
wards in telling wonderful stories of the daring prowess I had
displayed in penetrating the enemy's ranks. Such reports
often follow a traveller's reputation for years, and whoever
repeats them is pretty sure to append some marvel of his own
fancy. ''When fame paints a serpent, she attaches feet to its
body."
The savages had no idea of the velocity of a bullet ; they
invariably ducked their heads as often as they could hear a
ball whistling in the air ; and it was a very ludicrous spec-
178 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
»
Mohammed was at once to be recognised by his Monbuttoo
straw hat, with its briglit-red feathers. Although all his
compatriots would have considered it a degradation to adopt
a savage costume, he always delighted, in these expeditions,
to dress himself like a native chieftain. In order to give
the natives a still further demonstration of his safety, in the
course of the afternoon he made his nephew array himself
in his own state attire, his flowing rokko-coat, and his stately
plumes, and sent him to conduct a sally towards the north.
This party, however, returned without coming to any en-
<2;ao;ement.
I spent the whole day in my own tent preparing the
ammunition which I supposed would be requisite for my
people if the state of warfare should last. Deer-shot, with
some of a heavier description, I considered would be of
the greatest service in the hands of unskilful marksmen. I
had another occupation, which made me feel like a very
Nemesis. I manipulated the heads of the A-Banga men
which I had so recently appropriated. Probably with their
own eyes these heads had watched the stewing of other
human heads, but now they had to simmer on in my caldron.
Although I was quite aware that the Nubians reckoned the
bones of all heathens and unbelievers as entitled to no more
respect than the bones of brute beasts, yet for decency's sake
I preferred performing the operation in the seclusion of my
tent. Notwithstanding that my dogs had not had any
animal food for several days, they could not be induced to
eat a morsel of the boiled human flesh.
Just as it was growing dark we were startled, if not
alarmed, by the appearance of a great troop of natives. The
attack was not made, as hitherto, from the dense dark woods
at our feet, but proceeded from our old path upon the south.
Only the foremost ranks were visible, tlie rear being hidden
by the high grass and bushes ; but the wild cries, like the
howling of a coming storm, testified to the overwhelming
PURSUING THE FUGITIVES. 179
numbei's of the aggressors. Half of our armed force issued
from the camp in a compact line, and fired a volley straight
upon the nearest of the assailants, five of whom were seen to
fall dead upon the ground. The altered tone of the war-cry
proved that many more were wounded, and as all the guns
were loaded with a good handful of heavy shot this was sure
to be the case ; but this time the conflict came to such close
quarters that two more of our men were severely wounded
by the native lances. As soon as the attack was thus diverted,
and the front ranks of the enemy began to retreat, the
negroes of our caravan, who had been placed in reserve
immediately behind the soldiers, started off at full speed in
pursuit of the fugitives, and their lances made far greater
havoc than all the^ bullets of the Nubians. Before leaving
Munza's residence our bearers had all been provided with
new weapons, and thus our little negio band was able to
hold its own against greatly preponderating numbers of the
enemy, who, I should imagine, were at least 10,000 strong.
The weight and diversity of the weapons of the A-Banga,
added to the inconvenience of their costume, necessarily
prevented them from making a rapid flight ; they were con-
sequently obliged to keep throwing off one impediment after
another until the ground was strewn with shields, lances,
clothes, and sometimes with their false chignons, ornaments
and all. When the negroes returned to camp, bringing in
their spoil and swinging the chignons on the points of their
lances, they were greeted alike with the glad shout of
triumph and the loud ring of laughter.
It was near midnight when the pursuers came back.
They had prosecuted their chase to the frontier wilderness ;
they had found the villages all deserted by their inhabitants,
and had obtained such stores of plunder that enough was
accumulated to keep our whole caravan for a month.
This had been the most energetic attack that the eneniv
had yet attempted ; it was made exclusively by the A-Bano-a,
180 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
DO Niam-niam having as yet appeared upon the scene. The
arrival of Wando, with all his force, was expected the
next day.
Early, therefore, on the following morning half of our
little armament was sent forward to the north, not merely
to anticipate any movement on Wando's part, but, if possible,
to accomplish the object of obtaining some women as hos-
tages, who might be exchanged ibr the still undiscovered
ivory. Mohammed was annoyed at the previous failures to
secure any women, knowing by experience that hardly any
ransom is accounted too large by the Niam-niam for the
recovery of their wives.
About two hours after the departure of our soldiers a
singular sight arrested our attention. Marching along in
single file upon the top of the opposite slope, which was
separated from our camp by the woody depression and the
brook, we saw a lengthened train of armed natives, who by
their large quadrangular shields gleaming in the sun could
be at once recognised as A-Banga. The procession seemed
unending ; it occupied fully three hours in passing, and at
the lowest computation must have consisted of 10,000 or
12,000 men. It was at first the general impression that the
chieftain had arrived with the main body of his troops. It
was conjectured that he intended to make a circuit to the
west, and, having crossed the brook, to attack us at nightfall
from the same quarter as our assailants of the previous day.
But our fears were not realised, and we remained utterly
unable to reconcile the manoeuvres we had witnessed with
the absence of Watido, which was still a mystery to us, as he
might have been joined by all his allies in the course of a
single day. Everything, however, was made clear to us
when our soldiers returned at night from their plundering
expeditions. They told us that on arriving in the morning
at the liamlets they had found the fighting force of the
A-Banga all drawn up, evidently waiting in anxious suspense
WANDO'S RET HEAT. 181
for the assistance of Wando, but that on their approacli this
large body of men immediately vacated their post. Thus
the long train that had caused us so much bewilderment
was simply the 10,000 natives retreating at the advance of a
detachment of forty or fifty of our soldiers.
Upon the gradual slope on which our camp-enclosure was
situated, the white ant-hills, that often rise to an altitude
of ten feet, were the only eminences whence any extended
view could be obtained across the long grass of the steppe.
These were nearly always occupied by the natives, who
mounted them for the purpose of getting a better vantage-
ground for shouting their menaces and invective insults,
but occasionally they answered another end : they ser\ ed to
allow the outposts of the contending parties to hold com-
munication with each other. Amongst Mohammed's trained
soldiers he had no less than forty Niam-niatu, who were
very devoted to him. These would appear to have held
some correspondence with the enemy, and from them we
learnt that the A-Banga were greatly irritated at the con-
duct of Wando, who, after urging them to attack us, had left
them in the lurch. They complained that all they had got
from their acquiescence in his wish was tliiit the "Turks"
had killed their fellow-comrades and laid waste their land.
Wando himself, they said, had had an unpropitious augury
at the beginning of the fray, and, intimidated at the pro-
spect, had abandoned his scheme ; he had withdrawn to the
recesses of the forest, 'and, in spite of the remonstrances <if
the A-Banga, he now refused to render them any aid.
The little wooden bench, the " boroo," which I have
already described, was also consulted in our own camp. My
two Niam-niam, who were no great heroes, although they had
an almost unlimited confidence in Wando's power, had a still
more unbounded reliance upon the answers of their wooden
oracle. The test had been very unfavourable for one of
them, but I was told that it had promised a safe escape for
182 THE HEART OF AFRICA*
myself, a circumstance that once again confirmed my people
in their opinion of my unchangeable good luck. The A-
Bano-a did indeed make an exception in my favour when
they shouted their defiance from the ant-liills ; the Turks,
they vowed, should perish, but the white man might go
scot-free, because it was the first time of his coming to their
land. The quietness and retirement of my daily occupation,
my interested delight in studying the peculiarities of those
I saw, and perhaps, too, my reputation of being a harmless
" leaf-eater," all seem to have conspired to gain me a general
good-will.
Little Tikkitikki was perfectly unmoved by all the pro-
ceedings ; he showed no sign of fear ; he skipped about and
played with the war-trophies; but chiefly he stuffed himself
with sesame-pap, of which there was a lavish abundance at
his disposal.
On the fourth morning the enemy had entirely vanished ;
the inhabitants, too, had all utterly gone. Throughout the
period of warfare, the Nubians, neither in courage nor in
endurance, had coaie out particularly strong. The main
burden of the contest had fallen upon the " Farookh." As
a matter of fact, however, the Nubian regulars and the black
Farookh are equally indispensable to every comniauder of
an expedition. The native soldiers may be the better shots,
and they have the advantage of knowing the country more
thoroughly and of being accustomed to the climate ; more-
over, on rainy days (when the Nubians would sit shivering
in their huts) they will wrap their gims in their girdles and
with the greatest alacrity go perfectly naked over wood
and steppe to repel an advancing foe ; but, at the same
time, there is always the risk of their decamping at a
moment's provocation, — a dilemma into which a commander
would not be lei by the Nubians, who would be afraid of
deserting at such a distance from Khartoom. The Nubians,
however, are much more often ailing; they are never per-
AGAIN IN MOTION. 183
fectly tractable, having an unconquerable aversion to all
restraint ; they never showed themselves as remarkably
valiant in our . conflicts with the savages, and were in con-
tinual apprehension of being devoured. It was not so much
death in itself of which they were afraid, as of being de-
prived of the rites of burial, which are prescribed in the
Koran as indispensable for obtaining the palm of Paradise.
The lack of a grave is abhorrent to the notions of every
Mussulman, but the idea of being destined for the unclean
stomach of a cannibal was intolerable.
Blohammed, encouraged by the favourable progress of his
wound, now expressed his desire to quit our present quarters.
I endeavoured to dissuade him from his purpose, and repre-
sented to him that, although the wound had closed without
any suppuration, any exertion would have a tendency to
open it afresh ; but he persisted in his purpose, and deter-
mined upon being carried in a litter across the hostile
territory. In consequence of the journey the complete
healing was thrown back for a fortnight; but altogether
I congratulated myself that my amateur surgery, which
had hitherto been practised mainly on horses and mules, had
proved so satisfactory.
By sunrise on the fifth morning after arriving at this
inhospitable spot, our caravan was again in motion. The
camp was burnt, and great heaps of corn, sesame, kindy,
earthnuts, and other provisions, were scattered about, and
as a matter of necessity left behind upon the ground, much
to the chagrin of the bearers, who had once again to face the
deprivations of the wilderness.
It was not without some confusion tliat we crossed the
Assika. The way before us seemed clear of enemies, and our
crowd moved fearlessly on amongst the thickets. The white
ant-hills on the outskirts of the forest continued to afford
admirable stations for reconnoitring, and for enabling the
advanced party to announce that all was safe.
184 THE HEART OF AFKICA,
Quitting again oar previous line of" march, we continued
our journey towards the north, and crossed three more brooks,
each of them conducting us to a fresh grass plain. Once,
just as we approached the edge of a gallery, we were assailed
by a shower of arrows, but the volley of bullets that we sent
in reply very quickly deterred the invisible foe from any
further attack. No doubt the enemy were close enough
upon us to make certain of their mark, as the number oi
iron-headed arrows was usually large ; yet they did not
succeed in inflicting a single serious wound. It happened
fortunately that the bearers, who were more especially ex-
posed to the arrows, were thrown into no disorder ; they had
had tiie careful protection of the Farookh, who had made a
fresh path for themselves through the wood, on either side
of the beaten track.
After passing the last of the three brooks which I have
just mentioned, we came to a cultivated district, and as it
was near midday we made a short halt beside the hamlets.
The Bongo had now free scope for their destructive propen-
sities ; they proceeded to cut down the standing maize to
their hearts' content; they not only plundered all within
their reach, but laid waste the land in every direction. All
the world over, war is ever war.
In ransacking the huts the plundering parties had had the
luck to discover some of the missing ivory. A number of
valuable tusks were recognized as being those which had
been purchased from Wando, by means of some incisions that
Mohammed had made upon them ; the magazines in which
they were concealed being revealed by the cackling of a lot
of hens down amongst some unthrashed elensine. When the
hens were found a quantity of eggs was found with them, and
I was in consequence treated to a very choice breakfjxst.
Eggs are very rare throughout the district, the Kiam-niam
hens being as niggardly with them as the Dinka cows are
with their milk.
CAPTURE OF WOMEN. 185
At noon the sun became overcast, and the whole sky veiled
in a grey vapour that reminded one of a late autumn day in
the north. A phenomenon tiien ensued which is by no means
uncommon in these regions ; the disk of the sun turned quite
red, and was seen to be encircled by two distinct concentric
halos, which in rings of shadowy brown embraced at least a
third of the firmament above.
Turning to the E.S.E. we kept now to the right of tiie
depression of the brook, passing numerous groups of huts
upon our way. Isolated dome-palms (Hypheene thebaica),
rare in the Niam-niam lands, reared themselves at intervals
like landmarks on the route. Farther on we crossed the
Diamvonoo, which flowed through a ravine precipitous and
obscure, and subsequently, leaving the old road to the west,
we had to ford a succession of gallery-brooks. We had
already made our way through four of these, when on
approaching to the fifth we caught sight of a number of
natives who, surprised at our appearance, slunk away from
their huts, and tried, like beasts of prey, to find a safe lurking-
place in the adjacent thickets. The capture was effected
here of two Niam-niam women. They were bringing water
from the brook, and being espied by the advanced guard
were soon secured and conducted to the caravan, where, after
the failure of the previous days, their arrival was hailed with
a shout of glee. The women themselves were perfectly
composed, and apparently quite indifferent, making them-
selves at once thoroughly at home with such of their country-
women as they found already in our train.
It was later than usual before we halted for the night, and
our men were more than ordinarily fatigued. In consequence
of this our camp was pitched with haste and carelessness.
The weather turned out cold and very rainy ; the ground
became so soft and soddened tliat it would afford no hold foi-
the tent-pegs ; and so all prospect of rest had to be abandoned.
Every moment the pole that upheld the frail shelter above
Vol. XL— 14
186 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
me threatened to give way. I held tightly on, and shouted
through the commotion of the storm for my servants to
make haste, and they only came in time to save me from a
thorough drenching. This scene had to be repeated more
than once.
It was touching, through the moaning of the wind, to
catch the lamentations of the Niam-niam men bewailing the
loss of their captured wives ; cannibals though they were,
they were evidently capable of true conjugal affection. The
Nubians remained quite unaffected by any of their cries,
and never for a moment swerved from their purpose of re-
covering the ivory before they surrendered the women.
Anxious next day to continue Our course to the east we
had to cross so many streams that they seemed to make a
labyrinth of waters. The windings of the interlacing brooks
and the network of entangled streams apparently corresponded
almost precisely with what Livingstone describes as the hy-
drographical character of the country on the west of Lake
Tanganyika, and which he has compared to frosted window
panes in winter. This great explorer (who has been over at
least a third of the vast continent of Africa) noticed a similar
source-territory through which flowed theLualaba,*atthat time
quite an enigmatical stream. Its course, indeed, was towards
the north, but Livingstone was manifestly in error when he
took it for a true source of the Nile ; a supposition that
might have some semblance of foundation, originating in the
inexplicable volume of the water of Lake Mwootan (Albert
Nyanza), but which was negatived completely as soon as
more ample investigation had been made as to the com-
parative level, direction, and connection of other rivers,
especially of the Welle.
We now found ourselves in a locality with which our own
Niam-niam were by no means acquainted, and there was no
* lu one of his letters, Livingstone describes the Lualaba as " a lacustrine
river."
LOSING THE WAY. 187
facility for getting any proper guides ; just, therefore, as
might be expected, we missed our way, and proceeded
(without knowing whither we should come) for a couJ)le of
leagues aloug a splendid gallery, where numbers of silver-
white colobus-apes were merrily taking their pleasure.
I had my suspicions that we were going wrong, and by
referring to my journal in which I had entered the details of
our former route, I ascertained that we were now taking the
same direction as we had followed then. Further inquiry
soon convinced us that we were proceeding straight towards
the spot where we had last met Wando, and that in fact we
were not distant more than three miles from his residence.
We were quite aware that he was not just then at his Mbanga,
but still there was no doubt that if we would ensure reaching
Mohammed's Seriba unmolested, it would be politic to make
a wider circuit round the hostile district, and accordingly,
without delay, we retraced our steps for a considerable
distance.
On the confines of the gallery, the land had just been
(deared for a crop of sweet-potatoes, and a number of women
was occupied in the work. They had a lot of dogs scampering
about, and the sight of these caused quite an excitement
amongst our Mittoo-bearers, who darted at them with their
spears, and slaughtered them in the most remorseless fashion.
Pitiable and heartrending in the extreme it was to see the
poor brutes writhing upon the lances. I must confess to have
felt more sympathy for the dogs in this country than for all
the men. Perchance some one is inclined to reprobate such
a sentiment ; but I think I could show him a picture where
his own best sympathies would hardly be with his fellow-
creatures. I could paint for him the spectacle, as it has been
seen on a Sunday morning in some thriving town, when all
the residents are sallying out in their best attire, and in
mournful contrast a string of poor ill-clad, dejected emigrants
passes by. What is it then, I would ask, that gives the
188 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
deepest, truest pathos to the scene ? It is not the sight of
the humtm wretchedness, which probably is the penalty of
indolence or crime, but rather it is more than all the sight of
the faithful dog that lias followed its master through weal
and woe, never quitting his side, and taking its share in all
the vicissitudes of Jiis lot.
We had now turned due east along a road that led us
across the Dyagbe, the brook that ran past Wando's residence ;
and, after marching for three hours over a desert steppe, we
finally encamped upon the left bank of a large gallery-wood,
where the vegetation was so luxuriant, that, forgetting all my
fatigue, I botanised until night stopped my further researches.
Game was abundant, and we had a savoury supper of roast
antelope.
The next morning was wet and gloomy. In forcing our
way through the dripping thickets, in order to reach the
river, we got thoroughly drenched to the skin. We had also
to endure incessant torture from the barbs of the calamus
(the generic name of the rotang), which like so many little
pike-hooks insinuated themselves through our clothes to our
flesh: attached to the twigs and universally diifused among
the bushes, they were a perpetual irritation for the traveller.
After we had accomplished this irritating passage, we pro-
ceeded northwards, crossed two more brooks of a similar
character, and arrived at a cultivated and populous district
on the banks of the Mbrwole.
The Farookb, who had been sent on for a league in
advance, had effectually scoured the district, and had been
rewarded by the capture of a young lady of rank : she had
been taken by surprise, and in the wonted manner of the
country endeavoured to save herself by taking refuge in the
forest, but she was tracked like a deer, and captured after a
short chase. She was attired in a magnificent apron of skins,
and was elaborately as well as fantastically adorned with
strings of teeth ; and to judge from the numerous trophies
THE MBRWOLE. 189
of the chase with which she was decorated, she might be
suspected of having a mighty Nimrod amongst her circle
of admirers. Full-grown men are never seized on these
occasions, and that for two reasons ; in the first place because
considering capture as identical with death, they defend
themselves with the fury of desperation ; and secondly,
because they are of no value as slaves. In these expe-
ditions, it is an understood thing that the sheyba, or yoke, is
never employed to fetter strong men; it would be far too
much trouble to look after them and to drive them along
when all one's energies are required for the protection of
the baggage.
The Mbrwole, which, ten miles lower down, after receiving
a number of rivulets from the south, becomes a considerable
stream, had here the appearance of being nothing more than
an ordinary gallery-brook ; and if I had not heard the name
from the Niam-niam, who fire always accurate in the nomen-
clature of their waters, I should have never imagined that it
was the main stream. The Bahr-el-Wando, as it is called by
the Khartoomers, flowed due west ; and though doubtless it
was fed by various minor brooks, it was here little more than
a ditch of a few feet in breadth ; yet the entire depression,
clothed with its woody heights, was scarcely less than 1500
paces broad.
The abject terror which the Niam-niam men displayed, lest
they should be devoured, formed a very remarkable contrast
to the quiet composure of the young woman who had just
been captured, and who, without any siga of fear, entered into
conversation and was ready to furnish us with whatever
geographical information she could. Hei- calm demeanour
led me to the conclusion that the Niam-niam forego eating
their female prisoners of war, for the advantage of reserving
them as slaves.
Under the guidance of our captive, we crossed the Mbrwole,
and taking possession of the huts on the opposite bank, we
190 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
found ourselves towards midday well installed in a comfort-
able camp.
The proximity of our position here to the thickets made a
nocturnal attack more than probable. I resolved, therefore,
to pitch my own tent in the middle of the huts and to keep
a lamp burning throughout the night. The tent conse-
quently became (as it was in a measure transparent) a great
lantern in the darkness and formed a target for the aim of
the missiles from the woods, a number of arrows being found
on the following morning sticking in the top ; these I have
preserved as memorials of our bivouac on the Mbrwole. All
night long the natives were skirmishing with our outposts,
thus necessitating a continual fire in reply ; but although
I slept alone in my tent, the experience of the last few days
had so accustomed me to the perpetual shots that my night's
rest was perfectly undisturbed. I was well aware that before
the enemy could get to my position in the centre of the
camp, they must alarm the groups of bearers who were
crouching round their fires, and must afterwards penetrate
the quarters of the soldiers and of my own servants.
To get into the right road we had again to cross the
Mbrwole. Another two leagues to the west along the left
bank, and the river was recrossed once more. Over culti-
vated tracts of rising ground we proceeded to the north and
came to some extensive flats of gneiss, the first we observed
in the course of our return. This gneiss, being on the
hither side of the river, and to the east of the furrowed soil
which we noticed on our outward way between the Mbrwole
and the Tjindukoo, acquired an increased significance as
apparently belonging to the line of elevation that traverses
the watershed of the Nile.
Leaving this interesting locality, we made a palpable
descent, and had next to pass over the meadow-waters that,
flowing in a northerly direction, formed affluents of the
Lindukoo. No regular path conducted to the farther side ;
THE LINDUKOO. 191
pell-mell the caravan plunged into the long grass and clumps
of Phrynia that made a half-floating surface to the swampy
depths. Experience makes a traveller wary in getting across
these marshy spots ; he learns by practice how to avoid a
ducking ; he gets the knack of kicking down a clump of
weeds without lifting his feet, and can tell to a nicety
whether it will bear his weight ; by caution such as this he
surmounts the difficulty of " the lacustrine streams." After
passing the last of these, we made our next encampment
near some Niam-niam hamlets, which, in this direction, were
the last before we should arrive at Aboo Sammat's territory.
Our arrival here was unexpected, yet before the bulk of the
caravan had come up the inhabitants had all made off, so
that Ave found the place entirely deserted. Although the
late outbreak of hostilities had put the whole district upon
the alert, there were various things to prevent the foe from
reckoning with any certainty upon our movements ; uneven-
ness of soil, extent of wilderness, prospect of supplies, all
influenced our plans, which might be changed at any hour ;
and thus it happened that in spite of all the spies that might
be set to watch us, the adversary was never safe from being
taken by surprise.
Ten leagues still remained between our present quarters
and Aboo Sammat's hospitable Seriba, which it was our wish
to reach by the shortest route.
An early hour of the following day found us at the Lin-
dukoo, that branch of the Yubbo, which I have already
described as the last tributary of the Nile system, and which
is distinguishable from the other rivers of the district by the
eastward flow of its waters. It was here considerably en-
larged by receiving the meadow waters from the watershed.
Bounded by banks some 20 feet in height, it meandered
along a deep bed that was 30 feet in breadth, through low-
lying steppes, which at no great distance were replaced by
woods.
192 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
The bank-forests that give the flora of the southern Niam-
niani lands its singular resemblance to the West African
type of vegetation here came to an end. In arriving at the
gneiss-hills, we had entered upon the limits of the dense
bush-forest which covers Mohammed's entire territory, an
area of nearly 500 square miles. Whilst, in the region of
the gallery-forests, all the trees and bushes are confined to
the river-banks, the intermediate spaces being occupied by
uniform grass-plains, here, on the contrary, in the region of
continuous woods all watercourses of every kind, whether
they are rivers or mere brooks are (just as in Bongoland)
bounded by low open plains, which extend, without being
wooded at all, to the very shores. The hydrographical
system is better developed, and imparts a well-defined
aspect to the scenery, the strips of open grassy steppe
along the margins of the watercourses winding like streams
of verdure through the dense masses of the foliage.
I swam across the narrow though copious river, while the
bearers conveyed the baggage over along the trunks of trees
that were thrown from side to side. Turning to the north-
east we passed over two more meadow-waters and reached
the Yubbo, which was now 50 feet wide, and too deep to
wade ; as no trees could be found of a length sufficient to
serve as bridges, some grass rafts had to be extemporised.
We were now once more in our former route. Another
half league brought us to the Uzze, of which, at this season,
the stream was so extremely sluggish that by my usual test
of a gourd-flask tied to a string I could detect no apparent
current at all. The river we found was 5 feet deep and
25 feet wide.
The herds of buffaloes which we had noticed two months
before seemed never to have changed their quarters. A
chase was started while the sun still gave us light, and before
night closed in the carcases of two powerful brutes were
seething in caldrons that had long been empty.
THE BANKS OF THE NABAMBISSO. 193
Early on the 1st of ]\Iay we were joined by some Niam-
niam who were under Mohammed's jurisdiction, and who,
having been stationed as outposts on the borders of the
hostile territory, had been attracted into the frontier forest
by the shots of the previous evening.
The last stage of our march before reaching; the Seriba was
soon accomplished. The road led through a charming park-
like wood, through which, by subterranean channels, the
meadow-waters of the Yabo and Tabongo rolled off their
verdure-hidden streams. In this latitude (4° 5' N.), the rain
had had very little effect upon the lesser rivulets of the
district, and the only signs of the advancing season were to
be found in the increased variety of newly-sprouting plants
and flowers.
We had a general rendezvous two leagues west of the
Seriba, on the spot where we had made our first bivouac when
we were starting to the south. It was here that Mohammed
was desirous of erecting a new Seriba, as the buildings of the
old one were becoming somewhat ruined, and this appeared
a better site for defending himself against aggressors. Be-
sides Wando on the south, he had another enemy on the
west, viz. Wando's brother Mbeeoh, who, as an independent
chieftain, ruled the district on the lower Yubbo, before its
union with the Sway; and the combined attacks of these
two placed his possessions at times in considerable jeopardy.
To escape this difficulty Mohammed now resolved to under-
take a campaign against Mbeeoh first, and, as soon as this
was accomplished, to proceed with his measures of reprisal
against Wando.
Until the enterprise against Mbeeoh was over, I was left
to take up my abode with the invalided soldiers, and my own
little retinue upon the banks of the Nabambisso.
CHAPTEK XVIII.
Solitary days and short provisions. Productive ant-hill. Ideal plenty and actual
necessity. Attempt at epicurism. Expedition to the east. Papyrus swamp.
Disgusting food of the Niam-niam. Merdyan's Seriba. Hysena as beast
of prey. Losing the way. Reception in Tuliamy's Seriba. Scenery of
Mondoo. Gyabir's marriage. Discovery of the source of the Dyoor. Mount
Baginze. Vegetation of mountain. Cyanite gneiss. Mohammed's cam-
paign against Mbeeoh. Three Bongo missing. Skulls Nos. 36, 37, and 38.
Indifference of Nubians to cannibalism. Horrible scene. Change in mode
of living. Invasion of ants. Peculiar method of crossing the Sway. Bad
tidings. Successful chase. Extract of meat. Eetiu-n of long absent friends.
Adventures of Mohammed's detachment. Route from Rikkete to Kanna.
Disappointment with Niam-niam dog. Limited authority of Nganye.
Suspension-bridge over the Tondy.
After the fatigue and excitement of our previous journey
we were glad to recruit ourselves by a comfortable camp
life in the dense bush-forest on the Nabambisso. Spacious
grass-huts had been erected for our accommodation until the
new Seriba should be completed, and these, nestling amongst
the massive foliage of the abundant vegetation, gave the spot
an aspect that was almost home-like. A refreshing rain had
moderated the temperature; and the air, mild and laden,
with the fragrant odours of the wood, gave animation both
to mind and body.
Three years previously all the land had been under culti-
vation ; but nature had soon effaced well-nigh every trace of
human labour, and the roots of the trees and shrubs that
had only been partially destroyed by the tillage had sprouted
forth with redoubled vigour and still more gigantic develop-
ment of leaf ; thus attesting the unfailing power of vitality
loan.
aft«
rtkii;
A NEW SERIBA. 195
in the wilderness and the impotency of man against the
persistency of nature.
In this charming locality 1 passed the early days of May.
a month which in these latitudes may truly be called a
month of rapture, when the commencement of the rains has
renewed the life and growth of all around. From morning
to night 1 strolled leisurely about amongst the laushes,
but without neglecting a chance of enriching my stores of
botanical treasure by every novelty that presented itself.
Meanwhile, Mohammed was occupied in the formation of
his new Seriba. Hundreds of natives were employed in
conveying the trunks of trees from the neighbouring forest,
and these were erected side by side and close together in a
deep trench ; the trench was afterwards filled in with earth,
and the palisaded Seriba, a hundred feet square, was all com-
plete. So quickly was the work accomplished that on the
fifth day after our arrival the invalided soldiers, by whom
it was to be occupied, were removed into their new quarters.
The other soldiers in the interval had vacated the old Seriba.
Everything being ready, Mohammed, accompanied by his
entire marching force, started off on his campaign against
Mbeeoh and Wando ; during his absence it had been
arranged that I should make this quiet, lonely spot my
temporary home.
Confined thus to a narrow area, I had now to look forward
to a period of inactivity, in addition to which I had the pros-
pect, by no means pleasant, of submitting to a scale of diet
that was straitly limited. Our provisions were all but
exhausted. Under the most favourable circumstances,
Mohammed could not be expected back in less than twenty
days, and the slender supply left for the maintenance of the
few men who remained behind as my body-guard would have
to be carefully doled out in daily rations to last out the
time. Our cattle had all long since been slauglitered ; goats
were nowhere to be had ; nor could any hunting-booty
196 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
reasonably be expected. For myself the only animal food
on which I could rely consisted of twenty tiny fowls 6f the
diminutive Niam-niam breed, which Mohammed, from some
unknown source, had procured for me, reckoning that he had
thus provided me with one daily meal during the three
weeks in which he would be absent. This valuable treasure
was, however, a. cause of some solicitude ; in the first place a
strong cage had to be constructed to secure them against
the robbers of the night; and, secondly, we could not help
begrudging them every grain that they consumed of our
scanty stock of eleusine.
My daily allowance now consisted of a fowl, scarcely as
large as a partridge, and one single slice of the coarse and
bitter eleusine bread ; but these, in the bracing air of the
Niam-niam and in the cool stimulating temperature of the
early rains, were far from being sufficient nourishment, and I
began to be conscious of the pangs of downright hunger.
The season was very unfavourable for hunting, but even if it
had been otherwise I should have felt it undesirable, under
the circumstances, to have wandered far from my quarters :
the ruined condition of our palisade left us especially ex-
posed to an attack, and with our small supply of firearms it
was advisable to be constantly on the spot. It is to this day
a mystery to me how the Bongo bearers who remained with
us supported life during this period of privation ; but some-
how or other they had a wonderful knack of discovering all
kinds of edibles in the forest, and stirred up by their
example I eagerly grasped at anything the wilderness
afforded to supply the deficiency of my meagre cuisine.
In the middle of the open space of the old Seriba there
happened to be a huge white ant-hill of long standing, and
this rendered some timely assistance in our need; every
night after there had been heavy rain, myriads of white ants
appeared on the red clods and might be gathered by the
bushel ; they belonged to the fat-bodied, winged class, and
WHITE ANTS. 197
were what are known as " sexual males." Immediately upon
issuing from their dark retreat, and after a short swarming,
they assemble in masses at the foot of their hill and proceed
to divest themselves of their wings, leaving their heavy
bodies helpless on the ground. This removal of their wings
does not seem a matter of difficulty; the instinct of the
insects seems to prompt them to throw the wings quite for-
ward till they can be so mutilated by the front feet that
they completely drop off. Any insects that remained upon
the wing were soon brought to the ground by bundles of
lighted straw being placed under them, so that it might
literally be said to rain white ants. Baskets full were then
readily collected for our table. Partly fried and partly
boiled they helped to compensate for our lack of grease of-
any kind. Not unfrequently I mixed them with uncooked
corn and ate them from the hollow of my hand ; they made
just the kind of food that would be good for birds, and,
vfwre avium, I took them. If the day only chanced to be
rainy, the night was sure to be provided with a feast ; there
was not one of us who had not cause to be thankful for the
strange abundance of the ant-hill.
Fortunately I found that I had a little reserve of the
extract of meat which had been obtained from the Mon-
buttoo goats ; with this and with a fair supply of bread and
vegetables I could have managed for myself very well^ but
unluckily there were no vegetables in the district; the last
of the tubers had been devoured and the gourd-season had
not yet arrived. It was revolting to me to boil and eat the
gourd leaves like the natives, and I therefore endeavoured to
procure some of the Melochia of the Arabs, a species of
Corchorus which is found both wild and cultivated throughout
the entire district of the Nile. It was upon this plant alone,
boiled like spinach, that (with the aid of thyme-tea) Sir
Samuel Baker records that he subsisted for some weeks at
the time when he was treacherously deserted by the natives
lUB THE HEART OF AFRICA.
on his way back from the lake. At this period, however, of
my residence on the Nabambisso, the Melochia was only just
beginning to sprout, and with all my diligence in looking for
it I could never get more than the scantiest of platefuls at
a time.
As the discomforts of our situation increased and became
more and more trying, I was thrown upon my resources to
seek enjoyment of a more ideal nature, and in the neigh-
bouring woods I found the best of compensation for all my
bodily privations. Whenever I was beginning to feel more
than ordinarily disconsolate I would hurry off to the thickets,
and there amongst the splendid and luxuriant vegetation I
was sure to find an engagement which would, at least for a
•time, draw away my thoughts even from the appeal of
hunger. In hardly any portion of the world ought an
enthusiastic botanist to suffer ennui ; wherever there exists
a germ of life, there is also a stimulant to his spirit ; but
hardly a scene can be imagined calculated to enlist his whole
interests more and to divert him better than the exuberance
of bountiful nature such as was revealed upon the Nabam-
bisso.
The few books that I had brought out with me I had read
over and over again. The perusal of Speke's journal and
Baker's accounts of his difficulties gave me great interest,
and I realized very fully a situation which appeared to coin-
cide so entirely with my own. During my forced solitary
hours I was only too glad to get hold of any printed matter
whatever that was nevv to me. My extensive store of grey
blotting-paper, that served to protect the dried plants was silent
enough ; but the books into which every few pages of the paper
were stitched were fastened on the backs by strips of paper
which I carefully removed and found to be a source of occa-
sional diversion. This paper, as being stout in quality,
chanced to be cut from the Times; and the articles on
tlie leading topics of the day, the correspondence with the
ON LOW RATIONS. 199
editor, and even the concisest of advertisements, all sup-
plied a peculiar interest. It was strange to sit here, in the
very heart of Central Africa, and to read of the tropical
wonders that graced the Crystal Palace, where the music
that floated round might be the echoes of the voice of
Titiens. Tantalizing it was to read of " Mountain port at
twenty shillings a dozen," and to learn that it was compara-
tively free from alcohol ; it made us (involuntary abstainers
as we were) thirstier than ever, and joyfully enough would
my Bongo bearers have had some cases to convey. I wished
myself back again in the days when we were fighting the
A-Banga ; for though they were days of peril, they were days
of plenty, and the old Spanish proverb would ever and again
force itself upon my recollection, "No misfortune comes
amiss to a full stomach." At night my dream was akin to
Baker's dream of pale ale and beef-steak. It seemed as
though one only required a good meal's victuals that he
might die in peace, and be contented to have for his epitaph
the saying of the warrior of the Eoman Empire, " What I
have eaten and what I have drunk is all that now remains
to me." Nothing could elevate the vision of the mind for
long ; tied down to material things, it was impotent to soar ;
and food and drink became the single and prevailing theme
which we were capable of handling by day or dreaming of
by night.
Reduced to this low and depressed condition were the
feelings which I experienced during the later portion of
those lonely weeks that I spent in the great shed, now half-
ruined, that had formed the assembly hall of the old Seriba.
The stipulated time of solitude was drawing rapidly to a
close, but still nothing was heard from Mohammed. Our
necessities became more and more urgent : to remain where
we were became more and more impracticable ; and to
escape from the disasters that were threatening us I pro-
posed to set off on an excursion to the nearest settlement of
Vol. XL— 15
200 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
any Khartoomers. Forty miles to the west of our present
quarters was a Seriba belonging to Tuhamy, and a lofty
mountain situated in its vicinity offered special attractions
for a visit; the journey would be safe, as the route led
across Mohammed's own territory, and on our way we should
pass another Seriba upon the eastern frontiers of his district.
Ten bearers would suffice to carry my baggage for this little
trip, and I need hardly say how glad they were to accompany
lue under the prospect of ending, or at least gaining a respite
from, their season of privation.
We started off on our march upon the 21st, and after
crossing the Boddoh brook and two smaller rivulets we arrived
at the Hoo. This little stream meandered through a wood
remarkable for its diversity of trees, amongst which I was
surprised to see the Sparmannia of Southern Africa. The
banks themselves were enclosed by dense bushes of a new
species of Stipularia, of which the numerous blossoms, half-
hidden in their purple sheaths, gave a singular appearance to
the plant. It belongs to the characteristic stream-vegetation
of the spot.
Beyond the Hoo we came to a ravine of a hundred feet in
depth with a charming hedge of zawa trees ; and then cross-
ing two more brooks, copiously supplied with water and
both running to the north, we terminated our twelve miles'
march and found a hospitable "reception in the huts of
Ghitta, an overseer of some of the Niam-niam subject to my
friend Mohammed. After our recent privations we seemed
quite overpowered by the liberality of the entertainment
offered us by Ghitta ; he procured corn for the bearers, he
brought out several flasks of eleusine-beer, and more than
satisfied all reasonable claims upon his hospitality. To the
great diversion of the assembled villagers I shot a great
number of turtle-doves in the adjacent trees. This species,
with the white ring round the throat, is found all througli
the year in well-nigh every part of Central Africa, although
MADIKAMM. 201
it appears to avoid certain localities, such for instance as the
vicinity of our ruined Seriba, where we should have been
most thankful for such an addition to our scanty stores ; the
birds, however, manifestly have a preference for particular
places, but wherever they resort they are generally to be
noticed amongst the. foliage in immense flocks.
The soil of this region was once more broken by deep
clefts, and was alternately a series of gentle undulations and
of deep-cut ravines. Beyond Ghitta's village the road turned
towards the south-east and crossed a brook ; further on it
passed through a district enlivened by numerous farmsteads
and where some sorghum-fields testified to the influence of
their neighbours on the east upon the industry of the
inhabitants. The district was named Madikamm, being
called so after the second brook to the east of Ghitta's
hamlets. The majority of men capable of bearing arms had
accompanied Mohammed on his campaign ; consequently
the huts had hardly any other occupants but women and
children, who retreated shyly as we advanced, and shut
themselves up in their pretty dwellings.
The votive pillars adorned with many a variety of skulls
demonstrated that at certain seasons the hunting booty must
be very large ; the diversity of antelopes, however, was far
smaller than amongst the Bongo and Mittoo, a circumstance
that recalled to my mind an observation made by many
travellers in South Africa who have affirmed that wherever
there are many elephants there is comparatively a scarce-
ness in the number of antelopes : the greater beasts, doubt-
less, make too much commotion in the forests, and in their
wanderings by night disturb the haunts and hiding-places of
the more timid game.
Leaving the villages of Madikamm in our rear, we found
ourselves on the edge of a great swamp a thousand feet wide,
which moved its insidious course northwards in the direction
of the adjacent territory of the Babuckur. It was covered
202 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
in its entire width by a huge, half-floating mass of papyrus,
which, called " Bodumoh " by the Niani-niam, gives its name
to the marshy waters. This was the first specimen of the
papyrus that I had seen in the depth of the interior at so
great a distance from the two main affluents of the Upper
Nile, and it gave a new* character to the locality ; it is, how-
ever, a characteristic of the swampy region on the upper
course of the Sway, where the reduced and meagre remnant
of Babuckur, sorely pressed on every side, drag out their
miserable lives ; their frontiers were only a league to the
north of the spot where we crossed.
After leaving the Bodumoh, our road took an E.S.E.
direction, which it retained as far as Tuhamy's Seriba. At
the first hamlets we reached, the inhabitants viewed us with
considerable distrust, as the soldiers from the nearest Khar-
toom settlements, and those who intended to pass through
Mohammed's territory, had most arbitrarily levied some
heavy taxes upon them.
Beyond the huts were open steppes covered with towering
grass which shado\ved many shrubs that were entirely new
to me, and excited my liveliest interest. Not a few of them
were in full bloom, and I walked along carrying a bouquet
that it was no exaggeration to call magnificent. The natives
might seem fully justified in reviving amongst themselves
my name of " Mbarik-pah."
I may mention that careful as was the method which I
have described of our wading over the marshy swamps it was
not uniformly attended with success. More than once in
attempting to cross without assistance at the head of my
little troop I had come to grief ; and now once again, at the
very next swamp we came to, it was my fate to have an in-
voluntary bath. The dilemma caused us some delay. I
was proceeding leisurely along, but coming to a deep hole
concealed completely by the long swamp grass I suddenly
fell in and was fished out again by my people thoroughly
A ROMANTIC BRIDGE. 203
drenched and plastered over with an envelope of mud. It
took an hour while I changed ray clothes and while the filth
was cleansed from the articles I was carrying.
Although the temperature was really as high as that of a
July day in our northern clime, the sky nevertheless was
overcast and the weather windy, so that it was with chattering
t«eth and an inward chill that I continued ray march along
the steppe. All prospect of the surrounding country was
obstructed by the towering grass. There was no distant
vision to fill the eye, and there was little to relieve the
monotony but the radiant blossoms, red and blue, of the
flowering shrubs.
After a while our course was interrupted by a brook
fifteen feet in width called the Kishy. This was too deep to
ford ; the method therefore was adopted of bending down
the boughs of the largest shrubs upon the banks, thus forra-
ing a fragile bridge, over which, by dint of caution, we
contrived to raake our tottering way without the raisadven-
ture, only too probable, of losing our balance. The Kishy
speeds swiftly along over the level steppe in the Babuckur
country, and, after receiving the Boduraoh, contributes
raaterially to the volurae of the Sway, which in that region
has already assuraed the diraensions of a considerable river.
The country beyond the Kishy retained the same character
as that along which we had been passing. By the side of a
little spring called Nambia, that went rippling between the
bare gneiss flats, we raade a halt for the purpose of following
up some guinea-fowl, of which the notes could be heard at no
great distance ; the whole district teemed with these birds,
and I could now again anticipate a daily raeal such as I had
not had for months.
Hidden deep amongst the long thick grass I here found
an aloe, of which the blossoms were of a greenish cast ; it was
a plant that except to an eye keenly looking for botanical
rarities would have been overlooked entirely.
204 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Whilst we were making our lialt, I was surprised by a
visit from Merdyan, the local chief; he had heard of my
arrival, and, accompanied by several natives, he had now
come to give me welcome. Merdyan was one of Mohammed's
black body-guard, and had been entrusted with the super-
vision of the eastern frontier of his territory; with three
guns at his disposal, he had been appointed to the command
of a little Seriba surrounded with fine fields of maize, which
were bounded by a ravine watered by a copious brook. To
reach this settlement we had to retrace our steps for a full
league along a road that gradually descended through a
cultivated country. A fine prospect lay open before us ;
upon the south-eastern horizon rose the imposing mass of
Mount Baginze, and a little to the north a pointed hill called
Damvo. On this day's march we accomplished a distance of
about eight leagues ; towards the close of it we came to one
of the groves of Encephalartus, which are scattered about
the district, and known amongst the Niam-niam as Mvooeh-
piah.
We enjoyed very comfortable accommodation in Merdyan's
Seriba; the huts were clean and well-built, and I had an
opportunity of renewing my observations on the domestic
arrangements of the Niam-niam. A delicacy to which I
had long been unaccustomed was provided for me in some
fresh ears of maize, and corn was not wanting for all my
people. There were two things, however, which could not
be obtained. We had neither salt nor any kind of oil or
grease. Eiharn, having lost his proficiency, seemed to be
now losing his memory ; he had quite forgotten to bring the
salt that would be required on our way, and the little grease
that could be procured had far too much the suspicion of
being mixed with human fat to make it in any way a
desirable adjunct to my dishes. Our own supply of butter
had been left behind intentionally, as it would be required
dm-ing our coming journey to the north. Whatever food
NIAM-NIAM FOOD. 205
the natives offered to my people, even to my negroes, only
tilled them with horror and disgust. Amongst many others
who came to the Seriba to satisfy their curiosity about me,
there was one fat old man who had his wallet full of victuals
hanging to his side, without which no Niam-niam ever quits
his home. My little Bongo, Allagabo, spying out two tempting
little brown paws, like those of a roast sucking-pig, pro-
jecting from the bag, was inquisitive enough to peep in to
make a closer investigation of the contents. He got a sharp
cuffing for his pains, but he was not likely to have been
much tempted, as the delicacy in question turned out to be
a roast dog ! At another time, my Niam-niam interpreter,
Gyabir, who was here in the full enjoyment of his native
food, offered Allagabo a dish of lugma (corn-pap), in which
were some fragments of flesh that looked like the limbs of a
little bird ; but AUagabo's disgust can be better imagined
than described when he discovered he was eating the legs
of a frog !
I spent one day with Merdyan for the purpose of in-
specting the neighbourhood, and in the course of my rambles
I bagged enough guinea-fowl to supply my whole retinue.
For the first time, too, I killed a black rhinoceros-bird [Tetmo-
ceras abyssinicus). I had previously seen these birds in the
Seribas in Bongoland, where they are so far tamed that they
strut about fearlessly amongst the other denizens of the
poultry-yard.
As I was returning in the evening 1 was witness of a
circumstance that I imagine very rarely could be seen. In
the twilight two great forms rushed past us, and were so
close upon us that we involuntarily started on one side ; the
pursuit was so hot that neither of the two animals seemed
to be aware of our presence, as in a few seconds they doubled
and rushed by us for a second time. My people persisted in
saying that it was a hyaena chasing an antelope ; but as I
was aware that a hyaena seldom hunts down auy living prey.
206 • THE HEART OF AFRICA.
I was unconvinced, and went early on the following morning
to investigate the traces that were left. On arriving at the
spot I found that the assertion of my attendants had been
correct, and that the footmarks were undoubtedly those of
a spotted hyaena and a hartebeest ; the tracks were deep and
multifold, and testified to the violence of the pursuit.
The spotted hyaena (H. crocuta) is somewhat rare so deep
in the interior of the continent, and even in the cattle-
countries of the Dinka it can hardly be said to be common.
It is probably driven, through lack of carrion left by the
lion, to seek for its subsistence by chasing living prey. This
species is far more savage, as well as more powerful, than
the striped hysena of the northern deserts, and appears to be
distributed over the whole of Africa below the latitude of
17° N. The skins are frequently used by the Niam-niam
for aprons; they exhibit a great variety of markings and
differ considerably in colour, the spots being sometimes
light and indistinct, sometimes, on the contrary, dark and
well-defined. The reports of the Niam-niam refer to two
species, one large and one small, as being found in their
land ; the smaller kind being probably the variegated hysena
observed by Speke upon the eastern coast, and apparently a
cross between the spotted and the striped.
The route from Merdyan's Seriba to Tuhamy's was through
an uninhabited district, and was crossed by so many streams
that it was quite a matter of difficulty to determine it.
Merdyan undertook to provide me with guides, if I desired
it; but as any intercourse between the two Seribas was
exceedingly rare, and as I heard a long and loud discussion,
before we started, as to which was the right direction, I
could not place much reliance upon my conductors. The
country through which we had to pass was perfectly flat ;
the trees, too, were frequently so high and the paths were so
narrow that we were unable to get a glimpse of either of
the two mountains which we had previously observed from
BEWILDERING PATH. 207
the high ground on the west. Neither of these mountains
could be much more than seven leagues distant. The
ignorance of our guides caused us considerable embarrass-
ment. We were in continual dread of encroaching upon the
adjacent territory of the hostile Babuckur, where we should
be entirely at the mercy of the cannibal tribe.
On leaving the Seriba we followed the eastward course
of a little brook named the Nakemaka. We kept beside
it until it reached the spot where it joined the larger stream
called the Mahbodey, which we crossed by our previous
method of bending down the pendant branches of the over-
hanging bushes, and then hopping like birds from branch to
branch as best we could. All these affluents of the Upper
Sway inclined to the north ; all of them, moreover, had a
marked descent. The next of them was known as the
Meiwah, and about a league beyond we came to the actual
mainstream of the Sway, which was here thirty feet in width,
and really wider than the united measurements of the two
streams above; such of them as we did not cross by our
improvised bridges we had to pass by swimming.
After a while we came to a large forest of butter-trees,
the first and last that I saw in the country of the Niam-
niam. The underwood was so dense, and its foliage so
fully developed, that we could not see more than ten paces
in any direction ; our guides completely lost their way, and,
without a clue to our proper path, we wandered on. To add
to our perplexity the sky became overcast with the tokens
of an approaching storm, and we thus lost whatever aid we
might have got from the direction of the shadows. With a
vista contracted as ours the compass was of little service,
and in a country like this it was very unadvisable to leave
the beaten paths or to penetrate into any untried thickets.
We were glad enough when we at last caught sight of two
deserted huts in the middle of the wilderness. The floods of
rain were beginning to descend, and we were thankful for
208 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
any shelter. The storm that had burst upon us continued
with such unremitted violence that we were compelled to
resign ourselves to the necessity of passing the night in this
wild spot. The interior of the huts swarmed with creeping
things of the most revolting character, in comparison with
which the most obnoxious vermin that are ever found in
houses within the range of civilization would appear mere
mild and insignificant domestic nuisances. By heaping up
a pile of fresh leaves and grass, I contrived a sort of covering
that protected me from actual contact with the crawling
things, but the lullaby that buzzed and hummed around me
was none of the pleasantest. There were the swarms of
white ants that were incessantly gnawing and scratching at
my leafy coverlet; there were snakes and lizards rustling
in the cobwebbed thatch above : there were mice scampering
and squeaking on the ground below. However, for the con-
dition of things there was no help : the best must be made of
it ; so I shut my ears to the commotion, and resigned myself
successfully to the blissful unconsciousness of slumber.
When I awoke at dawn the rain was still falling, the heavy
drops pattering down like lead upon the leathery leaves of
the butter-trees. Hungry and shivering, I sat upon my
grass couch and peered out through the narrow doorway
into the obscurity of the thickets, where I could see the
broad backs of my negroes as they grubbed away with all
their might, defiant of the storm, in the hopes of getting
something from .among the roots to appease their craving.
Hunger at last compelled us to brave the weather, and to
take our chance at proceeding. We directed our move-
ments at starting towards some mounds of gneiss, that at a
little distance we could see picturesquely rising above the
trees. Our intention at first was to ascend these elevations,
that we might make a better survey of the land around us ;
but we were spared the necessity of climbing up them, as on
reaching their base we fell into a well-defined path which
TUHAMY'S SERIBA. 209
we did not hesitate to follow. It led us to the brook Shoby,
and shortly afterwards to some human habitations.
Our arrival made no little stir among the natives, who had
received no intelligence of the presence of a white man in
that part of the country, and at first they were inclined to
suspect that we must have come with hostile intentions.
My Niam-niam, however, soon reassured them, and induced
them to provide us with guides for our route. They led us
out in an easterly direction, passing through a country that
was fairly cultivated, and along which the numbers of guinea-
fowl were so large that they kept me fully employed during
the march. We had now only one more brook to pass, which
was called the Mossulongoo, and this we accomplished in
such good time that it was still daylight when we reached
the Seriba of Tuhamy. Amongst the inmates of the Seriba
my servants recognised several of their former acquaintances
at Khartoom, and very enthusiastic were the greetings that
were mutually exchanged. The controller of the Seriba
received me with the most cordial hospitality, and cleared
out his best hut for my accommodation. The hut was en-
closed with a high palisade, which gave it an additional
protection. The controller's superior and principal in
Khartoom was a personage no less important than the chief
writer of the Kohhumdarieh ; and this influential authority
had in the previous year given instructions to his sub-
ordinate that he was to show me every possible attention
if I should chance to pay him a visit.
The Seriba was a halting-place for Tuhamy's ivory expe-
ditions from the Eohl to the Monbuttoo country. Situated
as it was on the extreme eastern limit of the Niam-niam
territory, it formed an outpost towards the Babuckur land,
which Tuhamy's companies were accustomed to consider as
their corn magazines, and on which they relied for their
supplies to carry them onwards to the south. But the
Babuckur were already wearied by the depredations to which
210 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
they were thus continually exposed ; their impatience made
tliem desperate and exasperated ; and a very few days after
my departure they made an attack upon the Seriba, burnt it
to the ground, and compelled the inhabitants to evacuate
the place. Many Nubians as well as many Niam-niam lost
their lives in the engagement, and the few that escaped had
to make their way to the nearest Seriba, which was that
established in Mondoo, at the distance of a long day's journey,
situated amongst the Zile'i mountains, of which the spurs and
projecting terraces were visible on the eastern horizon.
Subsequently to this, all Tuhamy's settlements passed by a
special contract into the hands of G-hattas's son.
The brook upon which the Seriba was situated was called
the Annighei. The chieftain in command of the Niam-niam
in the district had formerly been independent, but had been
deprived of his authority by Tuhamy's companies. His
name was Indimma, and he was one of the numerous sons of
Renje, but not to be confounded with the powerful chief
of the same name, who was a son of Keefa. He came now
to offer me his welcome, and communicated to me many
interesting details about the surrounding country.
I made a little excursion to an elevation of gneiss a few
miles to the east of the Seriba, so as to gain a point from
which I might survey the surrounding mountains and make
some observations to verify the position of the various peaks.
The detached ranges for the most part were situated from
ten to fifteen leagues from the site I had chosen for my
survey, and I should imagine their height to vary from
4000 to 5000 feet above the level of the sea. All those who
were capable of giving me any information at all upon the
subject agreed in representing that the entire district was
distinguished as Mundo or Mondoo, and that the principal
chain of hills was called Mbia Zilei ; also that at the foot of
the mountains was the village of Bedelly, the native local
overseer, close to which was another Seriba belonging to
MONDOO. 211
Tuhamy. Between me and the mountains flowed the river
Issoo, a stream which I was assured was at this season fifty
feet broad, and so deep that whoever attempted to ford it
would be immersed up to the neck. The entire region was
rich in corn, especially in sorghum. Several hundred bearers
laden with it arrived during my stay at the Seriba, and I
took the opportunity of laying in a stock for myself; it is
difiScult to obtain sorghum in the Niam-niam countries,
and it was long since I had had grain of such a superior
quality.
All the Niam-niam of whom I was able to make inquiries
assured me that the natives of Mundo are a distinct people,
difiering from themselves both in habits and in dialect ;
their precise ethnographical position I could never determine,
but I should presume that they approximate most nearly to
their Mittoo neighbours on the north, and more especially
to the Loobah and Abakah,
This Mundo or Mondoo is not to be confounded with the
Mundo to the south of the Bongo, which Petherick reports
that he visited in February 1858; it is the name of the
western enclave of the scattered Babuckur. But the Mundo
of which I am speaking is marked upon the«nap by Peney,
who in 1861 penetrated westwards from Gondokoro as far as
the Ayi or Yei ; Petherick too has inserted the district upon
his map,* under the name of the Makaraka mountains, and has
assigned it to exactly the same locality as I have myself
done. In spite of Petherick's protestation, many geographers
have made the two Mundos identical, and have thus fallen
into the not unnatural conjecture that the Yei is the upper
course of the Dyoor, a conjecture of which my journey has
fully dem nstrated the fallacy.
The Issoo, as the upper course of the Tondy is here called,
forms the western boundary of this mountainous district ;
' Journal of the Eoyal Geographical Society,' vol. xxxv.
212 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
alon<T the south and far to the east (probably as far as the
source-regions of the Yei) there stretches an offshoot of
the Niam-niam territory. This section of the Niam-niam is
called Idderoh, and is subject to an independent chieftain, a
brother of Indimma's, named Bingio, who had formerly been
an interpreter in Petherick's station in Neangara. The river
that waters his district is called the Nzoro. On all maps
this territory of the Idderoh figures as Makkarakka ; but, as
I have observed, this is merely a collective name given to
the Niam-niam by their neighbours on the east.
We had a day's rest in the hospitable Seriba, and were
well entertained with meat and vegetables. The neigh-
bourhood was interesting, and yielded several novelties for
my collection. One very brilliant ornament of the woods at
this season, which I had never seen in greater abundance,
was the Abyssinian Protea, a shrub about four or five feet
high, with great rosy heads like our garden peony. Another
plant, one of the Araliacese, the Cussonia, which is usually
only a low shrub, here attained quite the dimensions of a
tree, and its fan-shaped foliage crowned a stem little less
than thirty feet in height. In the damp grass near the
brooks flourished a number of ground orchids with remark-
a.bly fine blossoms.
• A yet richer booty, however, was in store for me. A few
miles to the south of the Seriba, jutting up like an island
from the surrounding plain, and visible from afar, rose the
massy heights of Mount Baginze. There I did not doubt I
should realize the fruition of many expectations.
We started upon the 27th, under the escort of a small
body of native soldiers, from tlie Seriba. Gyabir was in the
best of spirits. He had just achieved a great object of his
desire in attaining a wife. The controller of the Seriba had
a large number of slaves, and as one more or one less made
no appreciable difference to him, he had presented Gyabir
with a young girl of the Loobah tribe. My interpreter had
MOUNT BAGINZE. 213
long been desirous of securing a partner of his lot, and had
many times solicited both Mohammed and Surroor to procure
him a consort, but hitherto his request had been made in
vain. It is not an easy matter for a man without some
means to get married in Africa : if he negotiates for himself
he has to satisfy the demands of the bride's father ; but by
applying to the controller or ruler of the district, who can
exer,cise an absolute authority in these matters, he may
succeed in obtaining a wife without previously paying down
any sum by way of compensation.
We marched for about two leagues in a west and
south-west direction, and once again crossed the little
brooks that the Sway receives on its right-hand bank ; at
length we reached the pointed gneiss mound called Damvo,
which rises about 200 feet above the level of the plain. I
mounted the eminence, so as to employ its summit as the
second station for my observations of the mountain chains
The rugged rocks were clothed with. Sanseviera, and to the
very top charming shrubs made good their way from between
their clefts. The view was magnificent. It was the first
mountainous landscape that I had seen during my journey
that exhibited the true characteristics of African orography.
All around were elevations, more or less conspicuous, rising
like bastions isolated on the plain ; whilst high over all
reared the crest of Mount Baginze. The western side of the
mountain was precipitous, and might almost be described as
perpendicular ; towards the north, on the other hand, it
sloped downwards in gradual ridges : in form it reminded me
of many of the isolated mountains of Southern Xubia, atid
more especially of those in the province of Taka.
Mount Baginze is only four miles to the S.S.E. of Damvo,
but this short distance had to be accomplished by a circui-
tous and troublesome route leading across deep fissures and
masses of loose rock, and often through grass of enormous
height ; half-way we came to a rapid brook hastening along
214 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
through a deep cleft, which we were able to leap across.
This was the source of the Dyoor. It was the first actual
source of any of the more important affluents of the White
Nile to which any European traveller had ever penetrated.
My Niam-niam escort, who were natives of the district,
positively asserted that this brooklet was the Sway, and thus
plainly demonstrated that, however insignificant this little
vein of running water might appear, they were accustomed
to consider it as the highest section of the waters that con-
tributed to the formation of the Dyoor. The Sway, they
said, was the largest and longest river of their land ; Baginze
was their loftiest mountain ; and this was the most important
stream that issued from its clefts.
Before actually setting foot upon Baginze we had still to
make an ascent through a fine forest, but in due time we
reached the mountain and made our encampment close
beneath the perpendicular wall of the western flank. The
halting-place was upon the edge of a deep ravine, where a
bright thread of water rippled merrily along over rocks
covered with moss and graceful ferns. It was too late in the
day to attempt to ascend farther than to the summit of a
sloping spur projecting towards the north-west from the
southern side of the mountain, and which was about half the
height of the mountain itself.
The first few steps that I took were quite enough to con-
vince me of the entire accordance of the flora with that of
the Abyssinian highlands. Masses of brilliant aloes, with
their scarlet and yellow blossoms, grew luxuriantly upon the
slopes of gneiss ; the intervals between them were overspread
with a mossy carpet of SelagineUa rupestris, whilst clusters of
blue lobelia reared themselves like violets, only of a brighter
hue, from the surface of the soil. Here and there, in singular
contrast to the tender foliage of the shady hollows, lending
moreover a new and striking character to the vegetation, I
found, cropping up from amidst the rocks, the thick fleshy
WILD AFRICAN PLANTAINS. 215
leaves of that remarkable orchid, the Eulophia ; and on the
still higher declivities I met with yet another true represen-
tative of the Abyssinian flora in a new species of Hymeno-
dictyon, a dwarf tree of the class of the Kubiacese, which in
some form or other appear to embrace at least a tenth of all
the plants of Africa in these regions.
Wherever one of the bright bubbling streams was seen,
like a shining thread upon the grey monotony of the rocks,
there I was pretty sure to find the Ensete, or wild African
plantain. This is a plant which is never seen below an
altitude of 3000 feet above the sea. It was now to be
observed in every stage of its growth, sometimes being small
like the head of a cabbage, and sometimes running out to a
length of twenty feet with its fruit attached to a short thick
stem in the form of an onion. The tender leaves were
marked with a midrib of purple-red. It struck me that here
in the wilderness this plant, which has become so common
a favourite in our greenhouses, is distinguished by a much
shorter leaf-stem and by a more compact appearance than it
bears in its cultivated form when its growth is spreading and
graceful. Not unfrequently the Ensete of the mountains
bore a striking resemblance to young specimens of the Musa
sapientium, though it exceeded it in the number of the leaves
it bore, there being occasionally as many as forty on a single
plant. I found it here in full bloom, but without any pros-
pect of fruit ; it differs from other representatives of its class
by losing its leaves at the time of its flowering, and then has
the appearance of an elongated onion on a shaft some six or
eight feet in length, on the top of which rests a compact
truss of bloom. Although I never observed any side sprouts
from the wild Ensete, it by no means follows that they are
never to be seen : a single authenticated instance of tlie kind
would demonstrate almost beyond a doubt what is already in
so many respects probable, namely, that the Ensete is the
original stock of the cultivated African plantain.
Vol. II.— 16
216 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
We had quickly improvised some huts from the long
grass at the foot of the mountain, and they afforded us
secure and sufficiently comfortable shelter from the down-
pour of rain that lasted throughout the night. On the
following morning I was disappointed to find that the sky
was still burdened with storm-clouds, whilst a fine, drizzling
mist obscured the greater part of the view that we had
proved to be so lovely.
My sojourn in the neighbourhood was limited to a single
day, since the Seriba was suffering from the general dearth
of provisions, and could ill afford to entertain us : there was
consequently no help for it, but if the ascent of the moun-
tain wefe made at all it must be made in defiance of the
heavy rain. I was quite aware that the adverse weather
would make the task altogether uncongenial to my guides,
and I way not very much surprised to find that they had
made off during the night. I had thus to start off on my
own responsibility. My Nubian servants remained behind
to warm their shivering limbs over the camp-fires, so that,
followed only by my two Niam-niam, carrying the portfolios
for my plants, I set out upon my enterprise.
I turned towards the northern declivity, which slanted in
almost an unbroken line from the summit to the base. At
first my view was necessarily circumscribed, and it was
only after a good deal of clambering and by a very cir-
cuitous route along rugged places, overhung with bushes,
and across fissures full of water, that I succeeded in
finding the correct path. The wind was so strong that
although my broad hat was weighted with pebbles I was
obliged to leave it below. The highest point of the ridge I
found to be at the south of the summit, and thence I had a
magnificent prospect, being able to see for fifty or sixty miles
in an east and north-east direction. Not far short of a
hundred different mountain-peaks were visible, and of these
I took measurements of the angles between the more im-
ALTITUDE OF MOUNT BAGINZE. 217
portant, which I subsequently combined with the angles
which I had already observed. I also made a drawing of the
entire panorama around me.
The upper course of the Tondy was plainly visible, and
beyond it were caught the terraced ridges of the country to
the east. The northern and eastern spurs of Baginze were
especially picturesque ; the elevated level of the ground at
the base was not apparent from above, so that they stood out
like isolated eminences from a uniform plain : three more
spurs a few miles to the south-east also appeared completely
detached : they were in a straight line one behind another,
the names of the two most northerly being Bonduppa and
Nagongoh. Somewhere near them was a Seriba belonging
to Poncet's company, who had reduced the former indepen-
dent chieftain Bendo (another of the many sons of Renje) to
the same state of submission as Tuhamy's company had
brought his brother Indimma.
The measurement that I took upon the spot gave Baginze
a relative height of 1350 feet; but the barometrical obser-
vations made at the base, which would have determined its
exact altitude above the level of the sea, have unfortunately
been lost ; I believe, however, that I am not far wrong in
estimating the entire height to be about 3900 feet.
The bulk of the rock of which the mountain was composed
consisted of a gneiss that was so abundant in mica that in
many places it had the appearance of being actual mica
schist ; a speciality in its formation being the immense
number of cyanite crystals that pervaded it in all directions :
a similar conglomeration of " cyanite gneiss " is very rare,
but amongst other places it may be observed on Mount St.
Gotthard in Switzerland. Wherever the springs issued at
the foot of the mountain there were wide boulder-flats of
broken stones, and here the sheets of mica and tlie prisms
of cyanite, an inch or two in length, lay cleanly washed and
strewn one upon another in sucli thick confusion that I
218 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
had to wade through them as through a pile of rubbish.
I collected several specimens of the rock, which I brought
to Europe.
Massive in its grandeur, isolated, and worn by time, Mount
Baginze thus stood before me as a witness of a former era in
the world's history and as* a remnant of the lofty mountain-
chain which must have once formed the southern boundary
of the Nile district.
There was an entire absence of large trees everywhere,
and the higher regions of the mountain bore but a very
scanty vegetation. Contented, however, with the few botani-
cal discoveries that the toilsome trip had yielded, I began to
think of returning. It had taken me four hours to make the
ascent of the mountain, but being now aware of the correct
path, a single hour was all I spent in getting back to our
encampment. In spite of the unpropitious weather I felt
that I could have enjoyed myself for some days in exploring
this enticing neighbourhood : the mountain air was even
fresher and more invigorating than what I had been breathing
in the Niam-niam country — and this is saying not a little ;
for, in spite of their meagre diet, the Nubian soldiers who
came thither sickly and weakened by their idle Seriba-life
always returned from their Niam-niam campaigns fat and
healthy, and with renewed strength and vigour. My atten-
dants unfortunately did not sympathise with my ideal enjoy-
ments, but made such loud and bitter complaints at the
increasing inclemency of the weather that I should not have
dared to prolong my stay, even if I could.
On the third morning, then, after our arrival we began to
return. Although continually in doubt as to our path, we
were fortunate in hitting upon the route that was shortest,
and, crossing the Shoby at a spot where it was contracted by
gneiss walls and made a bend to the north, we reached the
rocks in the forest of butter-trees at which so recently we
had passed such a wretched night. Before it was dark we
TIDINGS FROM MOHAMMED. 219
once more entered Merdyan's Seriba. The long march of
nine hours, made doubly arduous by the many watercourses
that had intercepted it, had been one of the most fatiguing
that I had experienced. I took a day's rest, and amused
myself by shooting guinea-fowl, the sport being so successful
that I supplied my people with as many of the birds as they
could eat in two days. We performed the rest of our journey
thi'ough incessant rain, and on the evening of the 1st of
June found ourselves reinstated in the old Seriba on the
Nabambisso.
Here I received satistactory intelligence from Mohammed.
The condition of things had decidedly improved. Still the
store of corn was small ; but the gourds had ripened during
our absence, fresh maize had been brought to the Seriba,
and, best of all, the guinea-fowl had effected a lodgment in
the neighbourhood, so that we had a constant supply of
animal food ready at hand. As a consequence of the con-
tinual rains edible funguses nad sprung up in such abundance
tliat for days together I dined off guinea-fowl's liver and
mushrooms. In every respect the mushrooms resembled
those which we use in Europe.
I may mention that a large bufialo-hunt, to which all the
Bongo were invited, came in as a timely diversion, and that
day after day, with my gun in my hand, I was up and doing.
Before many days had elapsed the main body of Moham-
med's corps returned from their campaign. Only a portion
of the missing ivory had been recovered, for Wando, under a
superstitious dread of the intimations of his augury, had
persistently remained concealed in the most inaccessible
places, and consequently the hostilities had been mainly
directed against his brother Mbeeoh. Contrary to the
general practice of the Niam-niam princes, Mbeeoh had
been personally engaged in the conflict and had exhibited
remarkable bravery. On one occasion it had been with the
greatest difficulty that Mohammed had held his own against
220 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the hordes of his opponent, and in a raging storm had been
obliged to erect a kind of rampart, made of straw, to afford
a shelter from which anything like a steady fire might be
opened upon the assailants. The chances were dead against
Mohammed's side, but it is notorious that the natives hardly
ever follow up any advantages offered to them either by a
downpour of rain or by the obscurity of night ; and very
frequently they lost the most promising of opportunities for
crushing their Nubian oppressors.
Just before Mohammed himself returned there was a
considerable commotion amongst our Bongo bearers. A
circumstance occurred that naturally excited some conster-
nation. The bearers who had been left with me in the old
Seriba were in the habit of scouring the neighbouring fields
and forests every day in search of victuals for themselves.
One evening three of the party who had gone out did not
return, and their companions had no hesitation in avowing
their belief that they had been captured, and that they would
most certainly be killed and eaten by the inhabitants of the
adjacent district. Early on the following morning all the
Bongo and most of the Nubians who were with me started
off in a body to explore the neighbourhood and to follow up
as best they might the traces of the missing men. Accord-
ing to the statements of the Bongo, the crime had been
committed in the district under the control of Maddah, to
the north of the Seriba. In that direction the party bent
their steps. Their supposition was apparently correct, for
after following the tracks into a wood they found that they
terminated in a ghastly pool of blood. Maddah was forth-
with seized and hurried to the Seriba, where he was charged
with being answerable for the disappearance of the men. In
evident confusion and with much excitement he began a
long and incoherent preamble ; he declared that the blood
was that of an animal which had been slaughtered on the
previous day; he owned, indeed, about the three Bongo,
MISSING MEN. 221
that he had seen them running across his territory and had
had no doubt that they were making an escape to their own
homes. This explanation was objected to on the ground
that the obstacles on the way were far too great for them
ever to have entertained such a design. Maddah then went
on to say that some of his Niam-niam people had noticed
the fugitives, and had shouted after them to know where
they were rushing to, and why they were scampering along
at such a pace, but they had received no answer ; and
deeming it wrong to stand idly by and let the fellows
decamp from their owners they had not only pursued them,
but had effected their capture and put them into safe
custody. To complete his tale he affirmed that, somehow or
other, during the night they had contrived to escape ; and
this was all he knew about them.
The settlement of the business had ultimately to be left
to the surviving Bongo. They were not easily satisfied ;
they insisted most strenuously that, even allowing that there
miofht be some truth in the statement that the Niam-niam
had pursued the fugitives, they liad only done so wdth the
object of sacrificing them in order to indulge their appetites
and to convert their flesh into food. The representation
which Maddah gave of the pool of blood was held to be
especially unsatisfactory ; the bones of the slaughtered
animal were demanded as a proof of the fact, but nothing
was forthcoming at the hands of the Niam-niam but a few
fragments that could be recognised at a glance as belonging
to some game that must have been killed months before.
Everything, in fact, seemed to confirm the accusation. All
ao-reed that there was nothinfj: to exonerate either Maddah or
his people from suspicion. It was consequently decided that
as Surroor, the lieutenant in command, was absent, as well as
Mohammed, on the campaign, Maddah should be reserved for
judgment, and meanwhile must be kept in confinement and
placed under the yoke of the sheyba to await his sentence.
222 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
But when Mohammed returned he professed to be occu-
pied by mpre pressing and important business. It did not
require much penetration to perceive that there were certain
motives of policy which were prompting him to procrastinate
the investigation of the affair. The truth was he was
anxious, if he could, to keep on good terms with the Niam-
niam, knowing that their services were indispensable to him
for the usual raid against the Babuckur that had to be
undertaken for the purpose of getting a supply of com to
avert the prospect of his caravan being starved. Without
their co-operation it would be impossible for his soldiers to
cross the marshy swamps. Had the disaster befallen any of
the Nubians or Mussulmen at all, there can be no doubt
that Mohammed would have acted very differently, and
would not have suffered considerations of policy to deter him
from making an example of the delinquents.
The raid upon the Babuckur was an expedition that
Mohammed did not accompany in person. He entrusted it
entirely to Surroor, who took the charge of as many of the
subordinate Niam-niam as could be gathered. Just as might
be expected, the most savage brutalities were practised on
either side. Besides securing the store of corn, which was
the main object of the incursion, the Nubians were on the
look-out for a capture of female slaves, which they claimed
as their special perquisite. The Niam-niam on their part
followed the example and did some private kidnapping on
their own account ; the females that they entrapped they
disposed of in the following way : the youngest were destined
for their houses, the middle-aged for their agriculture, and
the eldest for thqir caldrons !
The skulls in the Anatomical Museum of Berlin that are
numbered 36, 37, and 38 might be supposed capable of
unfolding a deplorable tale of these depredations. Some
natives brought them to me fresh boiled, only a few days
after the raid had been perpetrated ; they had heard from
MOHAMMEDAN CONVERSION. 223
the Monbuttoo that I was accustomed to give rings of coppei-
in exchange for skulls, and as I was not able to bring the
poor fellows to life again I saw no reason why I should not
purchase their remains in the interests of science. Often I
reproached the Nubians of my retinue with allowing such
abuses to go on before theu' eyes, and under the sanction of
the flag bearing the insignia of the Holy Prophet ; but just as
often I received the answer that the Faithful were incom-
petent to change anything, but must submit to the will of
God ; it was impressed upon me that the Niam-niam were
heathen, and that if the heathen liked to eat each other up,
it was no concern of theirs ; they had no right to be law-
givers or teachers to cannibals.
I had repeated opportunities of observing that the ivory-
expeditions of the Khartoomers, although actuated by a
certain spirit of enterprise, did not at all contribute to any
propagation of Islamism. Negro nations once converted to
Mohammedanism are no longer considered as slaves, but are
esteemed as brothers. For this reason it was inexplicable to
me how Islamism had spread so far in other parts of Central
Africa ; for although, on the one hand, Islamism is a faith
that puts a pressure upon its converts by compelling them
to submit to its external prescriptions, such as circumcision ;
yet, on the other hand, the very conforming to the prescrip-
tions exempts them for ever from all oppression : thus I
could not understand why in other parts of the continent
the more powerful party had not maintained its material
interests by displaying the same indifference as was shown
by the Mohammedans in the countries through which I
travelled.
Some days after the raid on the Babuckur I was witness
of a scene that can never be erased from my memory.
During one of my rambles I found myself in one of the
native farmsteads ; before the door of the first hut I came to,
an old woman, was sitting surrounded by a group of boys and
•224 THE HEART OF AFKICA.
girls, all busily employed in cutting up gourds and preparing
them for eating ; at the door of the opposite hut a man was
sitting composedly playing upon his mandolin. Midway
between the two huts a mat was outspread ; upon this mat,
exposed to the full glare of the noon-day sun, feebly gasping,
lay a new-born infant : I doubt whether it was more than a
day old. In answer to my inquiries I learnt that the child
was the offspring of one of the slaves who had been captured
in the late raid, and who had now been driven off to a distant
quarter, compelled to leave her infant behind, because its
nurture would interfere with her properly fulfilling her
domestic duties. The ill-fated little creature, doomed to so
transient an existence, was destined to form a dainty dish;
and the savage group was calmly engaged in their ordinary
occupations until the poor little thing should have breathed
its last and be ready to be consigned to the seething caldron !
I profess that for a moment I was furious. I felt ready to
shoot the old hag who sat by without displaying a particle
of pity or concern. I was prompted to do something rash to
give vent to my sensation of abhorrence ; but I was swayed
by the protestations of the Nubians ringing in my ears that
they were powerless in the matter, and that they had not
come to be lawgivers to the Niam-niam. I felt that I was
as helpless as they were, and that it would be folly for me
to forget how dependent I was upon them. What influence,
I was constrained to ask, could my interference have exer-
cised, what could any exhibition of my disgust and indigna-
tion avail to check the bias of an entire nation ? Missionaries
in their enthusiasm, might find a fruitful field for their labours,
but they must be very self-denying and very courageous.
The departure of the caravan for the north was delayed
for several days in expectation of the return of the corps
that had been sent to the west with Ghattas's company, but
as no tidings of it were forthcoming we determined, without
further procrastination, to proceed upon our way.
THE KIVER HOO. 225
Shut out from all prospect of this year making any farther
progress to the south, and debarred from the hope of accom-
plishing any fresh explorations, I own that I began to long
for the flesh-pots of Egypt ; I confess that the stores that
were on their way from Khartoom to await me in my old
quarters at the Seriba in Bongoland had a wondrous fasci-
nation to my eager imagination. I was also now looking
forward that I might make several excursions during the
return journey, from which I was sanguine that I might not
only make fresh botanical discoveries, but might enlarge my
general knowledge of the country.
Our first night-camp was made on the northern frontier of
Aboo Sammat's territory, on the banks of a brook near the
hamlets of Kulenjo. Until we reached the Hoo we observed
no alteration in the condition of the brooks ; but the galleries
which I was now traversing for the last time seemed in
bidding me farewell to have dented their most festal cover-
ing, being resplendent with the luxuriant blooms of the
Spathadese, one of the most imposing representatives of
tlie African flora. The waters of the Hoo had risen to no
inconsiderable degree, and they had so much increased in
breadth that they filled the whole of the level bed, which
was 35 feet in width. The current flowed at the rate of
150 feet a minute, the water being nowhere more than 3^
feet deep. Our second night-camp was pitched half-way
between the Hoo and the Sway, at a spot where the bush-
forest, was densest and most luxuriant.
The advancing season brought several changes in onr
mode of living. I had become so far initiated into African
habits, that I now very much preferred a grass hut to a tent.
I was moreover getting somewhat out of patience with the
ever-recurring necessity of holding up the tent-pole with all
my strength during the storms of night, whilst I roused hal f
the camp with my shouts for assistance. At the height of
the rainy season the weather, by a beneficent arrangement of
22G THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Nature, fortunately follows certain rules from which it
deviates very exceptionally ; the first few hours of the morn-
ing always decided the programme for the day ; when once
the sky had cleared, we knew that we might resume our
march in perfect confidence, and I had the satisfaction of
feeling that my papers and herbarium were in no danger of
being spoilt by damp, and my companions had the same
security for the preservation of their powder and provisions.
Towards five in the afternoon, when the sun began to sink,
and the distant thunder gave warning of the renewing of the
storm, we made a halt, and directed our best attention to
prepare our nightly lodging in the wilderness. The baggage
was first piled together and protected by the waterproofs,
and as soon as this was efiected, a number of knives and
hatchets were produced and distributed among the "builders."
Off they were sent with all despatch. " Now, you fellows,
quick to your work. Four of you," I should order my
servants, " must be brisk, and get together the grass. You
two must hack me down the branches, long and strong,
and be sharp about it. No shirking now. And you have to
get the bast. Quick, away ! and quick back ! " And with
this hurrying and drivipg the work was soon done. Ten
minutes, or a little more, brought the men back with the
requisite materials. The framework was first erected, the
forked boughs being driven into the ground and firmly
fastened at the top with ligatures of bast ; meanwhile the
grass was being bandaged into a huge hollow sheaf, and this,
when all was ready, was raised above the structure and fitted
like a cap. Thus, in about half an hour, with alacrity, one of
these grass huts could be reared, small indeed, and snug as
a nest, but nevertheless perfectly waterproof; and thus
a sufficient shelter against the nightly rains. The storm
might rage and the thunder roll without, but here the weary
traveller, in safe and reliable retreat, might enjoy his well-
earned repose without misgiving.
AN INVASION OF ANTS. 227
By the glimmer of a little oil-lamp of my own contrivance,
in which I burnt some questionable-looking grease, of whicli
the smell could not fail to rouse up one's worst susjiicions
against the natives, I would sit and beguile the hours of the
evening, as best I could by writing down the experiences of
the day. The negroes had no such protection : they would
crouch round the camp-iire, which would make their faces
glow again with its fitful light, while the rain would pelt
pitilessly down upon their backs.
Such was the arrangement of our camp night after night
throughout our return journey. But my recollections of the
nights spent on the way between the Hoo and the Sway are
altogether very unplea,sant.
The rain on the following morning did not cease so soon
as usual, and our departure was somewhat delayed. We were
all of us intensely interested in keeping our own little dry
spot free from the drenching force of the rain, when all at
once I found my cosy quarters invaded by a whole army of
ants. They had succeeded in discovering the driest and
warmest place within a circuit of many miles, and now, in
countless legions, they took up their quarters in my palliass,
which was placed upon a lofty pile of leaves and grass.
Their encroachments seemed to come from every side. For
a long time I was in perplexity what to do ; to leave my
hut was impossible, the rain was falling almost in sheets. 1
endeavoured to protect myself with my clothes, but all in vain
Presently a stratagem suggested itself to my mind ; by a
happy thought I managed to divert the ants from myself.
Dragging some bundles of grass from my bed, I threw them
down in detached patches all over the floor, and by way of
bait I sprinkled tliem over with the fragments of food that
remained from the supper of the previous night. The scheme
answered admirably, and I had the satisfaction of finding the
unwelcome guests draw themselves away and give me no
more personal annoyance.
•2'J8 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Meauuhile a large portion of our caravan had gone on in
advance to make the necessary preparations for crossing the
Sway. I did not reach the banks myself until nearly noon,
and by that time the people were busily employed in convey-
ing the baggage across. The aspect of the Sway was entirely
different to what it had been on the 13th of February. The
water had risen to the very top of the banks, and was twenty
feet deep, with a velocity of two hundred feet a minute.
Although the stream was only thirty-five feet wide, the
passage over it, in consequence of the entire absence of tree-
stems and the small number of bushes on the banks, offered
unusual difficulties. The men who had had experience in
these Niam-niam expeditions had a method of effecting a
transit over the river that I think was peculiar to them-
selves ; they set all the bearers to work to gather as many
different kinds of bark as they could, and to extract all the
bast out of it, and then to twist it into long stout ropes, a
handicraft in which the negroes are very skilful, as in Bongo-
land there is an unfailing demand for cordage for hunting-
snares and fishing-nets. Having fabricated their ropes, the
next thing was to get them stretched across the river. This
was effected by practised swimmers, who attached one end
firmly into the ground by means of pegs, and swam over with
the other. The arrangement of the ropes was such that they
were suspended in double rows, one precisely underneath the
other, the upper rope being above the stream, the lower
being some feet below its surface. Ten expert swimmers
then took their stand upon the lower rope, and allowed the
stream to force their weight against the upper rope, which
supported their chests, but permitted them to have their
arms perfectly free for action. Thus supported, in a half-
standing, half-floating position, they contrived to keep their
hands at liberty, and to pass the packages from one to
another.
I confess that it was with a beating heart that I stood
EVIL TIDINGS. 229
and watched my precious baggage thus handed along ovei
the perilous flood ; but the lank, leau arms of the Nubians
were competent to their work, ami everything was conveyed
across in safety. This business of crossing occupied several
hours of real exertion. The difficulties of the transit may be
conceived, when it is remembered that three-fourths of the
negroes are entirely ignorant of the art of swimming, and
that there were elephant's tusks being transported which
weighed not less than 180 lbs., and consequently required
two men to lift them.
We passed the night near Marra's villages, and though
it was only a league from the river, it was quite dark before
we entered our quarters. The residents had all vacated the
district, leaving their fields of half-ripe maize to the mercy of
the new comers ; although plunder was ostensibly forbidden,
it was surreptitiously carried on by our bearers to a very
gross extent under cover of the darkness.
The whole of the next day we halted to recruit our
strength. I found my amusement in scouring the neigh-
bourhood in search of game. Huts were dotted about here
and there, but the country generally was covered with such
a wonderful grass vegetation, that any deviation from the
beaten paths would have involved the wanderer in great
perplexity, and only too probably he would have rambled
about for hours before he could recover his ^vay.
As the caravan was on the point of starting on the suc-
ceeding morning, and I had just set out at the head of the
procession, we were brought to a standstill by the arrival ol'
some messengers bearing a letter to Mohammed from the
commander of his corps, that had been sent towards the west.
To judge from the date of the letter, the Niam-niam who
brought it must have travelled at least forty miles, and
perhaps considerably more, in a day.
The letter contained evil tidings. Ghattas's agent and
Badry, Aboo Sammat's captain, wrote in the utmost despair.
230 THE HEAllT OF AFRICA.
Three chieftains had combined to attack them as they were
crossing a gallery on Malingde's territory; thre3 of their
number had been slain, and out of their ninety-five soldiers,
thirty-two had been so severely wounded as to be hors de
combat. They had now been closely besieged for six days,
and were with extreme difficulty defending themselves
behind their abattis; provisions were fast failing; and even
water could only be obtained at the risk of losing their lives.
Ahmed, the other captain, had fallen at the first outset of
the engagement, and his body had not been recovered for
interment, but had fallen into the hands of the cannibals.
The only means of rescuing the wounded soldiers would be to
carry them away in litters, and this could only be effected at
the cost of abandoning seventy loads of ivory that had been
buried in a swamp. The letter concluded with an urgent
appeal for speedy succour, and Mohammed determined to
send it without delay ; two-thirds of his armed men should
be despatched to the relief of the sufferers.
The selection of this relieving-force had to be made at
once, and it may be imagined that it was no easy matter for
Mohammed to overcome the repugnance of those who had
no relative or personal friend in jeopardy. It was naturally
a bitter disappointment to those men who were thus marked
off for this unexpected service to have to renounce the
pleasant prospect of the toils of their expedition being so
near its termination, and to be compelled to expose them-
selves anew to the dubious fortune of war. However, in
spite of remonstrances and murmurings, the conscription was
completed in a very summary fashion, and it was still early
when the remnant of our party, with its undue proportion of
bearers, continued our northward march.
It was a bright and lovely forenoon ; the steppe was
adorned with its summer verdure ; what had before been
bare red rock, was now covered with tender grass, which
reminded one of our own fields of sprouting corn. Africa
CHASE OF HARTEBEESTS. 231
seemed like a universal playground, exciting our people to
sport and merriment.
We persevered in following our previous well-beaten track.
The six meadow-waters that lay between Marra and the hill
of Gumango had increased but little since we had last seen
them. The lovely park-like country, with its numerous
scattered bushes, offered unusual facilities for the chase, and
small herds of antelopes, a long unwonted sight, appeared
and as rapidly disappeared in the surrounding landscape.
Once, however, five hartebeests, at a little distance from our
road, made a stand, and eyed the caravan as intently as if
tiiey were rooted to the spot. I took deliberate aim at the
breast of one of them, and although the whole five wheeled
round and galloped off into the thickets, I felt sure that my
shot had taken effect; on running up to the spot where the
antelopes had been standing, we found enough blood to show
us that one of them had certainly been wounded, how
severely of course we could not tell. The dogs that I had
were of no service for hunting, and had to be kept along with
the caravan in the care of servants ; but notwithstanding this
want of sporting dogs, and in spite of the confusion caused
by the multiplicity of tracks, we managed, by following the
spots of blood, to make out the proper traces of the wounded
hartebeest. As I was approaching one of the smaller
thickets, ^ observed a couple of kites making their circling
flight just above the trees ; this was a manifest token that
the wounded animal was not far off ; in another few minutes,
as I entered the grove, I caught sight of the yellow body of
the beast skulking painfully away from me as best it might,
a patch of blood-stained, trampled grass betraying the place
where it had thrown itself down.
The arrival of the birds was to me very inexplicable : ten
minutes had hardly elapsed since the shot had been fired,
and yet here they were, awaiting their prey. Tiie sportsman
in Africa (and this is especially the case on bright, sunny
Vol. II.— 17
232 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
days) has constant experiences of this kind. A few minutes
after he has succeeded in bringing down his game he may
see some black dots in the sky, which gradually, as they
come nearer and nearer, will assume a definite shape and
ultimately develop themselves into groups of kites, vultures,
or other carrion birds, ever ready to arrest their flight and
to appropriate to themselves whatever relics of his booty the
hunter may leave behind. It might almost seem, according
to the fiction of the ancients, that the sky above was divided
into several storeys, and that the birds were ever ready, at
the sight of a tempting meal below, to hurry downwards from
their topmost region in the sevenfold heaven.
This, however, is mere digression. I return to my harte-
beest. After a considerable search we came upon the
creature lying lifeless in the grass. It proved to be an
animal in suck, and my Niam-niam people, after the wild
hunting-custom of the country, filled a small gourd-shell
with milk expressed from the udder, and mutually drank to
each other's courage and good luck. I had not happened to
see the fawn ; probably it had not been with the hartebeests
when we first caught sight of them.
It may be readily understood from these details, that
without dogs, and over so bewildering a country, the capture
of game, even after it has been shot, is very often a matter of
no trifling difliculty. Moreover, time and distance have to
be taken into consideration. Our caravan was often half a
league in length, and it was important not to leave any gaps
in the procession, as nothing would be easier than ior the
rear division to mistake the narrow path they had to follow.
However fleet the huntsman may be, the antelope is fleeter
still, and the impatience and excitement exhibited by the
sportsman, hurried because he is travelling, have a tendency
to increase the alarm of the animal of which he is in chase,
and which is already terrified by the unwonted sight of man.
On the level steppe, where the grass grows to a height of
A LUCKY SHOT. 233
five or six feet, the pursuer can only get momentary glances
of the creatures' horns, and all along in his chase he is
hardly conscious of making any more advance than if he
were buffeting with the waves of the sea.
The animal I had killed was soon cut up, and I made a
meal off its roasted liver. Leaving some of my people in
charge of the carcase, I set out, designing to return at once to
the caravan to despatch some bearers to bring in the spoil
to the encampment ; but I missed my road, and, notwith-
standing the help of my compass, T lost an hour or more in
wandering over the rugged paths of an extended elephant
haunt. Coming to a depression that was partially under
water I saw several leucotis antelopes turn off in front of me,
and as the water obstructed my farther progress I made
a venture and fired my last shot at a solitary buck that
was standing at a distance of not much less than five
hundred paces. The animal instantaneously disappeared,
and the noise of the report caused several others, in a state
of affright, to scamper across the swamp. My Niam-niam
were soon at the place where the antelope seemed to have
fallen into the earth ; to my surprise they soon began to
make signs of triumph, and I could hardly believe my eyes
when I saw them dragging the victim along the ground. It
was quite dead and the bullet was in its neck.
Wonderful good fortune had thus, at very slight cost to
myself, thrown into my hands an ample supply of meat, which
after their recent deprivations gave unbounded satisfaction
to my people. But I will not weary the reader with further
details of my hunting adventures. Lovers of the chase and
admirers of good marksmanship will find a richer field for
their entertainment in the record of Sir Samuel Baker's
exploits about the Albert Nyanza, which rivals Herodian's
description of the sports and prowess of the Emperor Corn-
modus. My own hunting experience, however interesting to
myself, was comparatively on a very limite 1 scale.
234 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Carrying with us the piece of meat that was designed for
our supper, we entered the camp just as darkness was coming
on. I found the people quartered on the slope of a ridge of
hills near the frontier of Bendo's district, a league and a
half to the south of the residence of the behnky himself.
For half the night I sat up making extract of meat from the
best parts of the leucotis ; a large copper vessel, originally a
spirit-still, but now used for preparing the pap for Moham-
med's slaves, was a most serviceable utensil for the purpose.
From about 70 lbs. of the meat, which was very tender, I
obtained the unusually large proportion of 2^ lbs. of extract
of excellent quality and of the consistency of firm honey,
the whole produce being perfectly free from any glutinous
matter. The product was altogether superior to what I had
obtained from the Monbuttoo goats, not only being larger in
quantity, but infinitely more palatable, thus demonstrating
that the flesh of the leucotis justified the reputation for
flavour with which it was generally credited. I had an
opportunity subsequently of comparing it with what I re-
ceived amongst my fresh stores from Khartoom, and am
satisfied that it was in no way inferior to that from Fray
Bentos. Only those who like myself have existed for
months together upon an inadequate and monotonous diet,
or those who on long desert journeys have been limited to
farinaceous food, can estimate the strengthening effect
produced by ever so small an addition of this preparation to
other food which is not of itself sustaining. Extract of meat
thus is not the mere seasoning which many consider it ; not
simply does it give a relish, and draw out nutritious pro-
perties from indifferent food, but it is in itself a nutritious
substance of the highest rank.
The process of boiling the meat is very long ; while it was
being completed next morning I had time to explore the
magnificent vegetation of the adjacent hill. The wild vine
(Vitis Schimperi) was loaded with its ripe clusters and
BENDO. 235
afforded me a refreshment to which I had been long un-
accustomed. These grapes were less juicy than those that
grow upon the vine-clad hills of Europe, and they left a
somewhat harsh sensation upon the palate ; but altogether,
and especially in colour, they reminded me of our own
growth. Towards the south-east I had a view of the hills of
Babunga, about ten miles off on the frontier of the Babuckur
territory.
All the huts in Bendo's mbanga had been lately rebuilt in
a style that displayed considerable taste, the tops of the
straw-roofs being so much decorated that they looked like
various specimens of ornamental basket-work. We were
able to procure a good stock of maize, which made a welcome
change from the uniformly bad bread which we had been
eating previously for so long. Bendo himself was quite a
character ; his singularities amused me ; he was a kind of
fine gentleman, extremely particular about his toilette, and
would never allow himself to be seen unless he had been
carefully painted and adorned with his high-plumed hat.
I did some botanising on the hill of Gumaugo and found
it full of interest. We next crossed the Rye, and proceeded
to the adjacent villages of Gumba, Our camp was scarcely
pitched there when a message was received from jMoham-
med instructing us to wait for him. On returning to his
Seriba he had found that all the soldiers for whose fate he
had been concerned, and >vhom he was hurrying off' to rescue,
had already arrived there safe and sound, having succeeded
in breaking through the enemy and in carrying off their
wounded. He was now returning to us with his full force.
Pending his arrival we remained in Gumba's villages for the
two succeeding days.
He came back at the appointed time, and the recovery of
the parted friends caused great joy and excitement in the
caravan; innumerable were the questions asked, and no
accumulation of answers seemed to allay the curiosity.
236 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
My own attention was very much engaged by the accounts
given by Badry, the captain who had been appointed to the
command of the corps in the place of Ahmed ; I knew that
his word was to be relied on, and liis information was of
great value to me as throwing light upon the geography
of the country about the lower portions of rivers, some of
which I had crossed only in their upper course and some-
times quite close to their fountain-heads.
I heard many details of the conflict between Mohammed's
party and the Niam-niam, the leading incidents of which I
will now proceed briefly to relate.
It was while they were crossing one of the brooks over-
hung with the dense forests which now for so long I have
designated as galleries that the fatal attack took place ; the
consternation of the defenceless bearers, and consequently
the confusion of the whole party, would seem to have been
very terrible. The first discharge of Niam-niam lances had
strewn the ground with dead and wounded, the column of
the unfortunate bearers furnishing the larger proportion of
the victims. Previous to the attack not a native had been
seen. Nothing could be more crafty than their ambush.
Some of them had taken up their position behind the larger
trees ; some had concealed themselves in the middle of the
bushes ; whilst others, in order to get an aim from above, had
ensconced themselves high up, contriving to lie full length
upon the overhanging boughs where the network of creepers
concealed them from the keenest vision. Badry's recital
brought vividly to my mind the battles with the Indians in
the primeval forests of America, where similar stratagems
have been continually resorted to.
The soldiers kept up their fire with energetic vigour ;
they are accustomed to carry a number of cartridges arranged
like a girdle right round their waist, and having their am-
munition thus conveniently at hand they kept up their
discharges unintermittingly until they had collected their
STANDING AN ASSAULT. 237
wounded; but the bodies of those who had been actually
killed all fell into the hands of the assailants and were
carried off without delay, all attempts at recovering them
being utterly unavailing, because the irregularity of the
ground prevented any organised plan of attack.
The bearers, meanwhile, had flung away their heavy loads,
and in wild flight had retreated to an adjacent hill that rose
above the steppe; liere they were in a short time joined by
the Nubians, who sought the eminence as commanding a
view whence they might survey their position and concert
measures for their future protection. Most of the deserted
ivory, of course, had become the prey of the foe, but some of
the Nubians had taken the precaution of burying the burdens
in a swamp within the gallery, under the hope that they
might recover it in the following year. Thus deprived of
their proper occupation, the bearers were at liberty to carry
the wounded, and a treaty was concluded with the enemy so
that the party ventured to quit their quarters. The natives,^
however, were utterly treacherous ; they were bent upon
the annihilation of the intruders, and so, reinforced from the
neighbouring district, they made a fresh and savage attack.
In consequence of this the Nubians were compelled to
come to a stand in the open plain, and lost no time in
collecting whatever faggots they could get to make an
abattis.
Behind this abattis they had to hold out for three entire
days. The excited Niam-niam persevered in harassing them
with unwearied assaults; and as three independent chief-
tains had summoned their entire forces for the attack, the
combined action was unusually formidable; not until the
store of lances and arrows was all used up were the furious
sallies brought to an end and the Nubians permitted to go
upon their way. The enemy, it was said, displayed such
unabated energy that when all their ordinary lances had
been spent they procured a supply of pointed sticks, which
238 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
they proceeded to hurl with all their might against the
Nubian band ; it was, moreover, asserted that the quantity
of shields and lances was so large that the besieged used no
other fuel for their camp-fires during the entire period of
f,heir detention. Besides the weapons that were burnt, the
negroes attached to the caravan brought away a considerable
number of lance-heads, which they had tied up in bundles of
nearly a hundred and designed for trophies to decorate their
own huts.
Having thus spoken of the disasters of war that befell
Aboo Sammat's company, I will proceed to give a short
outline of the route which they took, and which lay to the
west and south-west of the districts through which I had
myself travelled. It may be remembered that the corps
had been detached from our caravan at Rikkete's village on
the Atazilly. It started off in a W.S.W. direction, which it
followed during the greater part of the journey. A march
of six leagues brought the men, in the first place, to the
village of Garia, one of Wando's brothers, who, like most of
the sons of the wealthy Bazimbey, had after his father's
death, without recognising the hereditary claims of his elder
brother, set himself up as an independent prince in his own
district. From this locality it was described as "a good
day's march " of six leagues to the residence of Malingde
or Malindo. This prince was the aforesaid eldest son of
Bazimbey, and had consequently a more extensive territory
than any of his brothers, with whom he was at that time
on quite friendly terms.
A morning's march of about four leagues brought the
party onwards to one of the other brothers, named MoflS.
who held office as a behnky in a district under the jurisdic-
tion of Malingde ; and between two and three leagues to the
west again they found another behnky, also Malingde's
brother, called Bazia. Beyond this place was a wide tract
of wilderness separating Malingde's territory from that of
INDIMMA. 239
Indimma. Shortly after reaching Bazia's residence they
had to cross a river, which they said was as large as the
Kohl at Awoory, and joined the Mbrwole on its right-hand
side : three other smaller streams flowed through this
wilderness, all of them aflHuents of the Mbrwole. As it took
them four days and a half to travel from Bazia to the
residence of Indimma, the distance may probably be esti-
mated at between twenty and thirty leagues.
Indimma was a son of Keefa, and one of the most influen-
tial Niam-niam princes of his time. He had taken up his
abode on the summit of a lofty and isolated mass of granite
or gneiss, which, according to some accounts, was as high as
the hills near Awoory (relatively 300 feet); or, according to
others, it stood even higher than the Wohba mountain near
Deraggo (relatively 500 feet).
At the top of this eminence was an extensive plateau, laid
out in cultivated tracts ; in the centre, like a small town,
stood the residence of the king, embracing, as my informants
unanimously declared, more than a thousand houses.
The mountain must extend several miles, both in length
and breadth, for the tedious ascent took many windings,
and compelled the caravan to make repeated halts. At
no great distance to the south was another smaller hill
and looking towards the west they had a view of nume-
rous lofty ranges, amongst which was that of the Gangara
mountains.
The population of Indimma's territory is a mixed race,
consisting partly of true Zandey-Niam-iiiam and partly of
A-Madi, a tribe nearly related to the A-Banga, and corre-
sponding in general features with the Monbuttoo.
After leaving Indimma, the caravan commenced the four
days' march which would carry them on to Kanna, who
bore the F>urname of Bendy, the most powerful of all the
reigning sons of Keefa. In the middle of the first day they
had to cross a large river, which the travellers identified with
240 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Wando's river, the i\Ibr\vole, and compared for magnitude
with the Blue NiLi at Khartoom ; they all persisted in saying
that it was not the river that they had to cross in canoes on
their way to Mnnza, and therefore not the Welle. They had
still to march on for three days before reaching Kanna, so
that there was no doubt that the entire distance between him
and Indimma could not be much under thirty leagues. I
asked one of Kanna's Niam-niam, who had attached himself to
the party on their wanderings, how far it was from Kanna's
to Munza's residence, and he replied that, marching at the
Niam-niam rate of eight or ten hours a day, the journey
would occupy about five days ; the direction, he added, was
E.S.E. and S.E. ; and his entire statement coincided very much
with what Abderahman Aboo G-uroou had told me when he
affirmed that the journey with his heavily-laden caravan had
required fifteen days to accomplish ; this was the same
length of time that it had taken us to travel a distance
which I imagine is nearly the same, viz., that from the
Nabambisso to Munza's dwelling.
From all I could gather, I should conclude that the
arrangements and habits of Kanna's court were very similar
to those of the Monbuttoo sovereigns : like them he had his
great palatial halls, where he celebrated the national festivals
with dancing and music, and where the nobles were assembled
for councils of state.
About four leagues, or half a day's march, from Kanna the
detachment had come to the residence of Bakinge, the king's
brother, who had a limited district sj)ecially assigned to him.
Just before reaching this spot, the caravan had been con-
veyed across " the great river " that flows from the land of
the Monbuttoo. The river so distinguished was undoubtedly
the Welle. The Khartoomers described it as being as wide
as the White Nile at its mouth; and the Niam-niam in-
terpreter, who accompanied them, in reply to my direct
inquiry as to the proper name of the great river of Kanna,
THE MINNESINGER. 241
informed me that it was called the Welle or Bee-Welle,*
thus establishing, by a fresh confirmation, its identity with
the river of Munza. I was told that in this district it makes
a semicircular bend. Close to the spot where the caravan
crossed it, was the residence of the king's brother and sub-
chieftain named Mbittima, and at a short distance beyond
stood the abode of Zibba, Kanna's son, who was governor
of an independent district. Before they passed to the other
side of the river, Aboo Sammat's company had also visited
the settlement of another brother of Kanna, named Gendwa,
which was about two days' journey to the north-\A est of the
king's dominions.
Having thus related the main particulars of the route of
the detached party during their absence, I will return to the
narrative of our own proceedings.
Our old friend the "minnesinger " paid us another visit in
our camp, and entertained us once again with the droll
elaboration of his poetic faculty; as the theme on this
occasion upon which to exercise his epic muse, he chose the
heroic deeds of Mohammed, which he chanted out with
characteristic energy.
As I was quite aware that in a few days more I should
have taken my leave, perhaps for ever, of the Niam-niam
lands, I was particularly anxious to secure a dog of the
unique race belonging to the country, that I might exhibit
it as a novelty on my return to Europe. For a couple of
copper rings I made purchase of a specimen of the breed,
which was quite satisfactory, as the creature was not only
very intelligent, but attached itself to me in a very few days.
My hope, however, of introducing the breed into Europe
was doomed to be frustrated ; by dint of watchfulness, and at
the cost of no little inconvenience, I succeeded in conveying
* "Bee," like *'ba," in many of the dialects of Central Africa, means
"river." It ■was an appellation that I was surx>rised to find in use here, and
was a confirmation of the supposed connection of these lands witli Baghirmy.
242 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the animal safely as far as Alexandria ; but while I was
staying there, it leapt from the hotel window, two storeys high,
down into the street, and was killed on the spot. Whoever
has experienced the bother of dragging a dog across the
desert on the back of a camel, or of rescuing it times out of
number from being drowned during the passage of a Nile-
boat, will readily sympathise with the annoyance I felt at
the waste of all my pains.
As our train proceeded along the hilly region between
Gumba and Nganye, it was easy to make the observation
that there was no appreciable difference in its magnitude
compared with what it had been when we traversed the
same district more than four months previously. A consider-
able number of the wounded were still carried on litters, and
formed a new feature in the procession. One poor fellow had
had the entire sole of his foot literally peeled off by a lance.
Ali, the leader of Ghattas's company, had also two severe
wounds, one on the neck, the other on the thigh ; but
although both of . them were still open, the sturdy negro
made light of his trouble, marched on merrily enough,
chattering to his companions every now and then according
to the current phraseology of the Nubians, enforcing his
assertions by the ejaculation, " Wollahi ! wollahi ! " (by
Allah ! by Allah ! ") These people are far greater heroes
in enduring pain than would be expected from their
pusillanimity in battle.
With Nganye the Nubians spent a day of riot and
revelry in honour of the African Gambrinus. The chieftain
had already prepared for their entertainment, and had sent
to Mohammed's hut an enormous vase of beer, the vessel
being a fine specimen of native pottery, a masterpiece in its
way, and so heavy when it was full that it required two men
to lift it. I spent the day in a hunting excursion. I
started towards the west, and succeeded in killing two small
antelopes and ui bagging a large number of guinea-fowl that,
A SUSPENSION BKIDGE. 243
in a liberal inood, I disti ibuted amongst my companions ;
the chieftain himself, when he visited me on the following
day, enjoyed a meal oif the tender flesh of the birds, which
during the rainy season is particularly rich and savoury.
During my stay with Nganye, I had incidentally a further
demonstration of what is the limited measure of authority
really possessed by the Niam-niam princes. I had discarded,
as I have said, the use of my tent : in return for its torn
covering, which, with the lining, would have furnished material
for more than a hundred aprons, Nganye had covenanted to
supply me with twenty baskets of eleusine corn, which would
be required by my people during their coming march across
the desert ; but in spite of the number of his wives and slaves,
who I should have imagined would very soon have got
together without difficulty whatever he directed, he was only
able to furnish me with half the stipulated quantity. This
meagre species of grain was all the corn-provision that could
be obtained, and very thankful we were that we could get
even that.
Before leaving his Seriba, Mohammed had sent a message
to Nganye to warn him of the advance of the caravan, so
that he might have sufficient time for the preparation of the
bridge by which it could cross the Tondy. This work was
executed without delay. A suspension bridge of a very
curious and original construction had been thrown across the
rushing waters. Some of the strongest trees on each bank
had been chosen for supports, and the bridge consisted
simply of strong ropes attached to them with some planks
or poles laid upon as cross-bars. This aerial pathway, as
might be expected, oscillated like a swing ; but dangerous as
it was, it permitted a passage by carefully crawling from one
cross-piece to the next.
The march from Nganye's residence to the river led
through the marvellous grass-thickets which I have already
described. The grass vvas now shooting up afresh in all its
244 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
wild luxuriance. The season for the great elephant-hunts
was at an end, and Mohammed was well satisfied with the
quantity of ivory his friend had secured. He told me that
Nganye, although he ruled over a district that was smaller
in extent (though it contained nearly as many hunting-
grounds as that of Munza), had furnished him with a much
larger supply of ivory than the powerful Monbuttoo king.
It was near the river, in some huts newly-built in Peneeo's
district, that we passed our last night in the Xiam-niam
country. A wide tract of wilderness had been lately rooted
up in order to acquire fresh arable land against the time
when the soil already in cultivation should be exhausted.
In these places it is wonderful to see how the masses of
shrubs that have been oppressed by the exuberant growth
of the trees, sprout out \nih renewed vigour : free, as it were,
from a long restraint, and reanimated by an open sky, these
step-children of the sylvan flora seem to overwhelm the
wanderer with their beauteous bounty.
On the 24th of June we reached the Tondy and its hang-
ing bridge. To convey the baggage across this tottering
erection was the work of nearly an entire day. The place
of our present transit was four miles to the east of the spot
at which we had crossed on our outward journey; it had
been chosen higher up the river for several reasons, not only
because the stream was narrower and the banks were higher,
but principally because the trees were of a larger, more
substantial growth, better adapted for the purpose of being
converted into piers for the suspended ropes which formed
the bridge. The river was here sixty feet wide, but near the
banks it was so full of fallen trees and bushes, of which
the boughs projected as though growing in the water, that
the width of the stream was practically diminished one-half.
The velocity of the current was about 115 feet a minute, the
depth nowhere being less than 10 feet.
The materials of the suspension-bridge consisted exclu-
HIGH IN MID-AIR. 245
sively of branches of the wild vine intertwined with thick
elastic ropes of unusual strength. The French traveller
d'Abbadie noticed a similar stratagem for crossing rivers
on his tour to Enarea, and bridges improvised very much
in the same manner are constructed from creeping plants
in South America. In order to get the ropes raised to a
sufficient height, a regular scaffolding of fallen stems has
to be erected on either side of the river, by means of which
the festoons of cords are raised to a proper altitude. The
clambering from cross-piece to cross-piece upon this unstable
structure, poised in mid-air, seemed to require little less
than the agility of an orang-outang ; while the very con-
sciousness of the insecurity of the support was enough to
make the passenger lose his composure, even though he were
free from giddiness and already an adept in tlie gymnastic
art.
Vol. II.— 18
CHAPTEE XIX.
Division of the caravan. Trip to the east. African elk. Bamboo-forests.
Seriba Mbomo on the Lehssy. Abundance of corn. Route between
Kuddoo and Mbomo. Maize -culture. Harness-bushbock. Leopard carried
in triumph. Leopards and panthers. The Babuckur. Lips of the Ba-
buckuT women. Surprised by buffaloes. Accident in crossing the
Lehssy. Tracts of wilderness. Buffaloes in the bush. The Mashirr hills.
Tamarinds again. Wild dates. Tikkitikki and the cows. The Viceroy's
scheme. Hunger on the march. Passage of the Tondy. Suggestion for a
ferry. Prosperity of G-hattas's establishments. Arrival of expected stores.
A dream realised. Trip to Kurkur. Hyaena dogs. Dislike of the
Nubians to pure water. Two soldiers killed by Dinka. Attempt to rear
an elephant. My menagerie. Accident from an arrow. Cattle plagues.
Meteorology. Trip to the Dyoor. Gyabir's delusion. Bad new.« of
Mohammed. Preparations for a second Niam-niam journey.
The day was far advanced when, after crossing the Tondy,
we turned towards the left, and quitted the thickets in order
that we might find an open grass plot sufiSciently extensive
to accommodate our caravan. The separate detachments
were all gathered together, and then divided into two parties,
as before returning to Sabby Mohammed had resolved to
make an excursion eastwards as far as the borders of his
Alittoo territory, so that he might fetch away what ivory
he had in store there. The greater part of the bearers and
soldiers were sent on direct to Sabby, and I arranged for my
own bearers, under the conduct of my servant Osman Aboo
Bekr, to accompany them, whilst for myself I reserved just
as much baggage as was necessary, and joined the party
that was proceeding to the east. It chanced that Ghattas's
corps was taking the same route, and as it led through
ELANDS. 247
districts which were well supplied with corn, we all marched
in company.
After subduing the Mittoo who were resident close to
Nganye's territory, Mohammed Aboo Sammat, in the pre-
vious February, had founded a Seriba on the Upper Lehssy,
at no great distance from the villages of Uringama, one of
Nganye's behnkys. On account of its singular fertility the
district was a very favourite station for the various Eohl-
companies on their way to and from the Niam-niam lands,
and the sagacious Kenoosian, well aware of the advantages
afforded by their frequent visits, and knovving, moreover,
how numerous elephants were in the surrounding regions,
had lost no time in making a settlement in the locality.
The name of the local overseer of the Mittoo people was
Mbomo. As the owners of the land were mutually satisfied
with each other and on the best of terms, the soldiers of the
Seriba lived on the most amicable footing with the neigh-
bouring Niam-niam. The Seriba Mbomo was about twenty-
one miles to the E.S.E. of the spot where we crossed the
Tondy, the road by which we travelled lying almost in a
straight line in that direction.
Soon after starting, just as we re-entered the obscurity of
the forest, the men in the van of the procession made signs
that there was something stirring amongst the bushes. We
came to a halt, and hurrying to the front as stealthily as I
could, I made out the forms of some light-coloured animals
that were lurking in the shadows of the underwood. They
turned out to be five splendid elands. They appeared not
to have noticed oUr approach, and grazed on, as peacefully as
oxen, under a large tree just in front of us. Simultaneously
one of the blacks and myself fired at the foremost buck that
chanced to be standing full broadside in our face. The
startled animals made a bound, and put their running powers
to the test, their short weak legs carrying their ponderous
bodies at full gallop across our path. All at once a crashing
248 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
noise and a heavy fall; the wounded victim was ours: a
good supper was provided for our caravan.
This antelope {A. oreas) is the largest and tallest of all
the African species, occasionally measuring six feet high
at the withers ; it appears to be common to the entire con-
tinent, and perhaps does not fail in any equatorial region
whatever. It is probable that the imposing animal owes its
name of " eland " to the imagination of some well-read Boer,
to whom it appeared like the mythical creature of his fables
and heroic songs ; for only as such could the elk have been
known to the worthy Dutch colonists. But however little,
as far as regards either the colour of its coat or the shape
of its horns, the oreas may have in common with the elk,
still I must confess that by its size it could not do otherwise
than remind me of the stately game of my Livonian home ;
and the shaggy hair hanging in full crop from the neck, the
bushy bristles on the forehead, and above all the thick black
mane upon the withers, all combined to increase the resem-
blance. Far more striking, however, is the analogy of this
animal with the zebu-races of Africa, which exhibit many
points that are common to the whole antelope type. The
short legs, the elevated round body, the long hanging dew-
lap, the hump-shaped withers, and the light bay colour of the
skin are characteristics of this race that justify a comparison
of the eland with them far more than with the elk.
In external appearance this African elk exhibits varieties
as great as the hartebeest and other common species of
antelopes, and on this account it seems to claim some
detailed notice. In zoological gardens it is very rare to
find two individual examples exactly alike, and the greatest
diversity is observable in the shape of the horns ; as instances
of this, I may refer to the representation here introduced
(jf two pairs of horns which I have selected from my col-
lection, and which may be taken as examples of the two
most extreme forms that came under my notice. They
HORNS OF THE ELAND. 249
are about a yard in length, the pair that is more divergent
making only one spiral turn, while the other makes a turn
Horns of Ceiitial African Eland.
and a half. All the elands that I saw had extremely short
sleek hair of a bright yellow tan colour verging on the
flanks to a light bay ; the mane was black and erect, being
about three inches long. In every district through whicli
I travelled I observed their skin to be always marked in
well-defined stripes, which are not, as some travellers have
supposed, to be taken as indications of the youth of the
animal : I have seen full grown specimens that were marked
on each side of the body with no less than fifteen parallel
stripes, about as wide as one's finger, of a pure wliite running
from the black line of the back transversely down to the
middle of the belly, which is often marked with a large black
250 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
spot. The flesh of the eland ranks amongst the better kinds
of antelope-meat, and as quite as palatable as that of the
hartebeest.
We encamped about a league from our suspension-bridge,
in the midst of a splendid wilderness, where, in spite of the
torrents of rain, I passed a night of entire comfort in my
warm nest of grass. A little way to the north of our encamp-
ment there was a small gneiss hill called Manga. Before
halting for the night we had crossed two brooks, which with
a supply of water alike copious and rapid hastened on to
join the river at no great distance away ; the first of these,
the Mokungudduly, rippled along over smooth blocks of
gneiss, and was bordered by flower-bespangled meadows that,
stretching onwards in a forest glade, were watered besides by
countless springs.
The march of eight leagues that lay before us would pass
through an unbroken forest, and required us to make an
early start upon the following morning ; accordingly when
we set out we found the whole wood veiled in mist and the
ground yet reeking with the heavy dew. The forest flora
continually tempted me to deviate to either side of the path-
way. My interest was especially attracted by the splendid
Encephalartus, which seemed abundant throughout the dis-
trict. Amongst other new types of plants which met my
notice was the Tithymalus, one of the cabbage-like euphorbise,
the first that I had seen throughout the entire region. A
large variety of conspicuous shrubs, many of them covered
with fine blossoms, gave the forest almost the aspect of
an artificial park ; one of the most frequent of these (worthy
indeed to be designated as a tree) was the Parinarium poly-
antherum, remarkable alike for its great trusses of white
blossoms and for its polished leaves, which are thick and yet
brittle.
No less than eight running streams had to be crossed
during this march: the three first joined the Tondy, the
THE MOROKOH. 251
rest being tributary to the Lehssy. The third brook was
called the Baziah, the fifth the Ulidyatibba ; succeed-
ing this, and enclosed by walls of gneiss, came the Lehs-
sindah.
About a league to the right of our path, and to the south
of the place where we forded the Lehssindah, rose several
gneiss hills, of which the two highest peaks were called
Ndimoh and Bondoh. Our route had hitherto been quite
level, and apparently at a considerable height above the
valley of the Tondy; but it now began to descend for a
couple of leagues to the Morokoh. This wide and rapid
stream flowed through a tray-like valley surrounded by open
grass-plains that sloped downwards on either side to the
meanderings of the water. In front of us, to the east, the
whole country had a gentle but regular elevation, for looking
over the right bank of the Lehssy we could make out the
locality in which the union would have to be sought of the
chain of the Zilei mountains in Mondoo with those that
extend between the Tondy and the Roah.
The scenery of the steep declivity towards the south-west
which we now reached assumed a character very different to
the park-like landscape through which we had been passing.
For many miles the eye rested upon treeless steppes broken
by bamboo jungles that seemed almost impenetrable, stand-
ing in detached groups, their dark olive-green contrasting
admirably with the bright hue of the grass, and giving a
novelty to the general aspect. Immediately beyond the
Morokoh our path began to rise, and led us into the semi-
obscurity of one of these jungles.
A short time before reaching it, we had left on our right
a series of hamlets inhabited by the Niam-niam belonging
to Dippodo's district : a league further on lay the villages
of Uringama, on the extreme eastern frontier of Nganye's
territory, the Lehssy forming the boundary between the
Niam-niam and the Mittoo ; and a few more leagues still in
252 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the same direction would have brought us to the north-
eastern limits of the Babuckur.
We reached the Lehssy shortly before sunset. The
Seriba was built close upon the opposite bank, but it was
so enclosed by the tall bamboos that towered high above
the palisade that it was completely hidden from our view.
The actual source of the Lehssy was at no great distance ;
the river here was about fifteen feet wide, and four feet
deep, and flowed in a N.N.W. direction : the water was as
clear as crystal, a peculiarity that appertains to all streams
that are enclosed by bamboos, which delight in a soil that
is intersected by springs. The stems of the bamboos rose
to the height of forty feet ; slender and graceful they bent
themselves into an arch which stretched far across the
stream; and as hardly anywhere could a more inviting
spot be found for a siesta,. so hardly anywhere could water
be met with more tempting for a bath than that which
flowed limpidly over its gravel bed.
On my arrival at the Seriba, I soon became convinced
that I was in a land where corn was abundant; the very
liberality of the messes of sorghum-kissere that were served
up to my people was an ample proof that there was no
scarcity here. In times gone by I had myself had an utter
disdain for this food of the Soudan, but now, after so long a
deprivation, I relished it heartily, and thought it equal to
the most delicate of rolls. It was no doubt heavy and
indigestible enough ; still I could make a good meal of it ;
only on rare occasions during the Niam-niam journey had
I tasted any sorghum at all, and when I had, it had been
doled out in infinitesimal quantities, but with the fresh
enjoyment of this luxury now, and with the returning
opportunity of getting some real roast mutton, our previous
privations were soon forgotten.
The Seriba Mbomo was ten leagues to the south of
Kuddoo, on the Koah. Mohammed, with a thoughtful con-
NUMEROUS BROOKS. 25;^.
sideration of my tastes, had taken means to enable me to
fill up some missing links in the chain of our route. During
his march in February he had made one of his men who
could write take down all the infonnation he could get from
the Mittoo guides ; and from the same authority I obtained
verbal confirmation of the reports which I had previously
gathered, so that I was able to map out the entire district
with what I believe is tolerable accuracy.
In the sketch of the route there were enumerated as many
as twelve brooks that had to be crossed in the interval
between Kuddoo and Mbomo, all supplied more or less
copiously with water, even in the dry winter season.
Reckoning from north to south, the series came in the
following order : the Tee, the Burri, the Malikoo, the Mari-
kohli, the Mangawa, and the Wary; then came the water-
shed between the Lehssy and the Eoah, marked by the
Gherey-hills, which I afterwards visited; then followed six
more brooks, the Kooluma, the Magbogba, the Makai, the
Patioh, the Manyinyee, and the Malooka. Although all
these streams have their origin quite close to the left bank
of the Eoah, yet they take a very devious course before they
actually join it ; the last five, indeed, do not directly meet
the river, but join another stream to the west of the route
called the Dongodduloo, which unites itself with the Tee or
Tay ; the brook that flows past Ngoly's village, and which is
known to the west of Sabby as the Koddoh, being an
affluent of the Eoah.
On the watershed, bamboo-jungles extend over an area
of many square miles. The species which is thus found in
such immense masses is the same which is so prolific in the
lower terraces of the Abyssinian highlands. In the manner
of their growth these bamboos remind me of an asparagus-
bed in the summer-time, hundreds of sprouts start up from a
single root, and in graceful curves droop over towards the
ground. The habit of the plant is altogether similar to
254 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
the Indian bamboo, which has lately been successfully
introduced into the pleasure-gardens of Cairo. The Abys-
sinian species does not grow so thick in the stem as the
Indian, but it attains as great a height, often rising to forty
or fifty feet.
The well-tilled soil of Mbomo's district reminded me very
much of the country about Kuraggera ; the land appeared
well populated and covered with extensive fields of maize
and sorghum. The extent to which maize was cultivated
was quite surprising ; whole acres were planted with it,
and I obtained a large supply of fresh ears. I had these
all dried and ground, and thus provided myself with a con-
siderable quantity of flour, enough to meet the requirements
of several weeks to come. The maize is here liable to the
same drawback as it is elsewhere. It is very easily spoiled.
This happens from two causes ; it has a tendency to turn
mouldy, and it is very subject to the gnawings of worms ;
the meal also ferments sooner than any other species of
grain. The means adopted by the natives to keep it during
the winter is simply to tie the ears in great sheaves and to
hang them up on some detached trees, where they can have
plenty of air, and yet be out of the reach of the noxious
vermin.
One of the best productions of the country is the bean
(Phasseolus limatus), the same that is so much cultivated by
the Mittoo ; it is one of the most palatable species with
which I am acquainted ; its pods, that are short, broad, and
crescent-shaped, never contain more than two large beans.
Although the settlement had been so recently established,
Mohammed was very pleased with the store of ivory that
had been secured.
For three whole days I rambled about on the banks of the
Lehssy, meeting with excellent sport. Amongst other
things, I killed my first bushbock, an animal of which the
yellowish-tan skin is marked with white stripes, the lines so
BAMBOO THICKETS. 255
arranged as if they were a regular harness. There is always
to be observed some difference or other between each of
these creatures and all its fellows ; they are never precisely
alike ; either there will be some spot or speck, or stripe,
which is peculiar to each, and distinguishes it from all the
rest. The specimens of the bush-bock that I saw were
always solitary ; and it would seem to be more timid than
any other species of antelope. The singular marking of its
skin adapted it to catch the eye, but it was rarely visible for
more than a moment ; its nervous sensibility made it keen
to catch the slightest sound ; the lightest rustling w ould
make it bound away into the woods. I have stood breath-
lessly waiting with cocked rifle, but there is no time to take
a proper aim ; and the shot that took effect I own was
directed rather by chance than skill.
The bamboo-thickets are likewise a favourite resort of
wart-hogs, which there find abundant food in the tender
young sprouts in which they delight. Numbers of birds,
too, attracted by the grain that is formed in the round and
bushy spikes of the bamboo, haunt the scene, and many
varieties of sparrows (Passeres) build and breed in this
solitude, which is well-nigh as undisturbed as any upon the
face of creation.
The appearance of a herd of large eland antelopes excited
the Niam-niam of the neighbourhood to organise a regular
hattue, during the prosecution of which they met with a bit
of good fortune that did not often occur. They succeeded in
killing a leopard, an event tliat was deemed so great a
triumph that old and young conspired to do honour to the
occasion. The first intimation that we had of anything
unusual having transpired was given by the war-trumpets,
the notes of which were heard in the direction of Uringama's
villages ; our first impression was that the Niam-niam, who
were charged by the keen Kenoosian with the protection of
his frontier, had been successfully repulsing some assault on
256 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
the part of the Babuckur; but very soon the report was
circulated that a noble present was being conveyed to
Mohammed, and, true enough, ere long there approached a
formal procession bearing on a litter of leaves the blood-
stained carcase of the leopard. The offering was duly laid
at Mohammed's feet as a tribute, betokening the respect and
friendship of the behnky. Throughout the whole of Central
Africa the skin of the leopard is deemed a suitable adorn-
ment for persons of princely rank, and nowhere is it more
readily admitted amongst the insignia of royalty than with
the Niam-niam.
The animal that was now brought in was more than a
yard in length. It had been killed in a singular way.
Having encroached stealthily upon the position of the
hartebeests, and not suspecting the proximity of the hunters,
it had suddenly found itself beset by a body of men, and by
a prodigious bound endeavoured to leap over the circle of
snares that had been set. Just, however, as the leopard was
effecting an escape it was struck by a couple of lances with
such violence that the points darned themselves into the
flesh, and left the stems protruding. Thus impeded, the
wounded creature became entangled in the bushes and,
overpowered by the number of missiles hurled against it,
succumbed to its destiny.
All the leopard skins that I saw in this part of Africa
belonged to animals of the thick-set species, which is dis-
tinguished by large complicated spots, each spot being itself
an assemblage of smaller spots, which run, generally in
about five rows, along the entire body. By some naturalists
this species is designated as the panther, in contradistinction
to the true leopard, which is said to have a more slender
body covered with more numerous rows of smaller spots.
This, however, is an error ; in spite of the many varieties of
form and the gradations in the markings of the skin, it
appears certain that but one species of leopard exists
THE BABUCKUR. 257
throughout Africa, and that in tliis quarter of the globe,
at least, the distinctive terms of leopard and panther are
unnecessary.
On my previous wanderings I had skirted about three-
fourths of the frontier of the Babuckur territory. As this
territory lay but a short distance to the south-west of
Mbomo, being bounded by the Tondy, I was able to obtain
from the soldiers of the Seriba some particulars of the
country of which I had seen the natives largely represented
among the slaves of the various settlements at which. I had
sojourned.
The Babuckur must either have migrated to their present
quarters from the south, or they must be the remnant of a
nation that has been constrained to make its way to the
north and to the east by the advance of the Niam-niam. It
is said that their dialect is found amongst some of the tribes
to the south of the Monbuttoo ; this is not at all unlikely, as,
like those tribes, they have an established system of agri-
culture and give great attention to the breeding of goats.
Limited to an area of not more than 350 square miles, the
eastern portion of this people is very much exposed to the
raids of the Khartoomer traders and to the depredations of
the Niam-niam chieftains, who for years have considered
their land as a sort of outlying storehouse, from which they
could at pleasure replenish their stock of corn and cattle.
By reason of the perpetual persecutions to which they have
been subject, their population has gradually become more
and more compressed, and their very crowded condition
itself probably accounts for the vigorous intensity with
which they now ward off any acts of hostility ; they are
equally warlike and resolute ; they will fight till they have
shed their last drop of blood; and as cannibalism is com-
monly reported to be practised among them, their assailants
are generally content to carry off whatever plunder is to be
secured, as hastily as possible, without waiting to pursue
258 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
or trying to subjugate them. Their eastern neighbours, the
Loobah, though themselves harassed by the oppressors from
the north, are continually at war with the Babuckur.
The other portion of the Babuckur has withdrawn to the
frontiers of the Bongo and Niam-niam that lie between the
Sway and the Tondy, about sixty miles to the north-west of
the portion to which I have been referring ; the complete
identity of the race, thus severed only in situation, is verified
not only by the one term *' Babuckur" being applied indis-
criminately to the two sections, but still more by the
complete similarity of the dialects, as I afterwards proved by
comparing the vocabularies that I compiled. The Bongo
call the western division of the Babuckur " Mundo."*
The Babuckur are a tropical negro race. Their com-
plexion is very dark. As slaves they are very useful, being
of a docile and enduring temperament, handy in the house,
and expert at almost any ordinary work. They are short in
stature, and have a vacant, not to say a repulsive, expression.
The women, when they have once passed their youth are, as
a rule, the very incarnation of ugliness, for besides having
extremely irregular features, they mutilate their faces in a
most frightful way. All married women t pierce the rims of
their ears and both their lips, and insert bits of grass-stalk
about an inch long in the holes, some of them having as
many as twenty of these grass-slips about their mouth and
ears. The sides of the nostrils are treated in the same way
as amongst the women of the Bongo, as I noticed in its
proper place.
As Mohammed was anxious to inspect his Mittoo Seribas
again before returning to his chief settlement, 1 did not wait
for him, but, accompanied by a small retinue, I started off
* This is the Mundo of Petlierick.
t The portrait of a Babuckur woman is given in the subsequent chapter
on the slave-trade.
FORDING THE LEHSSINDAH. 259
on the 29th of June, taking the nearest route to Sabby.
For the first four miles we followed the same path by which
we had come to Mbomo, and although the rain fell inces-
santly, the bamboo-forest was so unbroken that it afforded
us an effectual shelter, and we reached the descent to the
Morokoh with dry skins. After crossing the brook we
turned off in a north-westerly direction, at an acute angle
to our previous path.
An immense tract of forest, utterly barren and unin-
habited, was now before us. The nearest cultivated spot
would be the villages of the Bongo, near Ngoly, which could
not be less than forty miles away, and certainly could not
be reached within three days. After crossing four little
meadow-waters, and fording the Lehssindah where it flowed
between its gneiss banks, we encamped for the night about
a league further on, near another of these meadow-waters,
which are very numerous, and which, spreading themselves
out in open glades, sometimes 500 paces wide, break the
monotony of the wooded scene.
The whole region was enlivened by herds of hartebeests,
and choosing my position at the head of the procession, I
was ever on the qui vive to pursue them. ]My exertions in
this way made the distance that I actually travelled three
times as much as it need have been ; but I had no other
reward for my pains than the amusement I derived from the
grotesque movements of the agile creatures.
After I had comfortably settled myself for the night in my
grass nest, a circumstance occurred of a kind which more
than once had happened to us before. I was roused by a
dull heavy sound that seemed to shake the ground like an
approaching earthquake. Our camp was tolerably extensive,
for, besides my own retinue, a considerable number of
Mohammed's bearers, conveying a large quantity of his ivory,
had been sent in our party ; but large as our numbers were,
the whole camp was thrown into commotion, and shouts and
260 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
gun-shots were heard from every quarter. The explanation
of the uproar was that an enormous herd of buffaloes in
their nightly wanderings had come scampering down upon
our position, and exposed us to the manifest risk of 'being
trampled to death.
Early on the second morning we reached the banks of the
Lehssy. The deep river-bed was now quite full, the stream
being forty feet wide and flowing in a westerly direction at
the rate of sixty feet a minute. The bearers performed the
passage by the ordinary manoeuvre of bridging over the
water. For my own part I thought to adopt a scheme which
would give some variety to the monotony of these proceed-
ings, and became the victim of a little episode of by no
means an agreeable nature. There would be a difficulty, I
felt, in wearing my boots to cross the tangled branches of
which the extemporised bridges are formed ; they would
permit no sure hold to the feet, and to walk over bare-
footed would not have been a prudent experiment, as I
might become footsore and prevented from marching; I
therefore abandoned all idea of clambering over, but un-
dressed myself and proceeded to swim across the flood.
When I was just within a few strokes of the opposite shore,
all at once I experienced a painful shock that throbbed
through every limb ; I had come into contact with one of
the prickly mimosa-bushes, which I have already described
as frequently hedging in the various streams. The river-bed
being now full to its entire capacity, the water had com-
pletely risen above the dangerous shrubs, so that they had
quite escaped my notice. I knew the nature of these thorny
barriers by experience, and when I mention that I never
foimd the stoutest boots able to withstand the penetrating
power of the spikes, it may be imagined to a degree what
agony I now suffered. It was like stranding on a reef of
thorns. The utmost refinement of cruelty could hardly
devise an instrument of torture much more efi'ectual than
SHARPLY STUNG. 261
these mimosae. However, swim I must. With a desperate
effort I got myself free from the entanglement of the shrubs,
and, bleeding from a hundred lacerations, I contrived to
reach the land. I felt as if my whole body had been
scarified. But there was no time to lose ; so, in spite of the
nervous shock, the angry wounds, and the smarting skin, I
set out at once in continuation of our march.
We travelled live leagues that day and crossed six
separate meadow-waters and glades of the same character as
those already mentioned.
After proceeding for a considerable distance over bare red
rocks, we were overtaken by a sudden storm of rain, and
had to take hasty measures for protecting the baggage. But
the interruption did not prevent me from doing a little
interesting botanizing during the interval of delay. I found
two of the prettiest plants that the land produces here,
showing themselves in great abundance: a little orchid
(Hahenaria erocea) with saffron-coloured blossoms, and a
sky-blue Monbretia, not unlike a squill. In many places
the barren rocks were overspread with patches of these
plants, that they looked as though a carpet had been laid
out upon them, the colours blending into patterns that would
not disgrace the flower-beds of our modern gardening.
In connection with the second of our night encampments
a circumstance occurred, trifling in itself, but which was a
convincing proof that, however deserted and free from human
intrusion these forest solitudes might appear, they are never-
theless explored by the natives when they are out upon their
hunting excursions. In the bustle of starting in the morn-
ing, a pair of boots, which I had hung up to dry within my
grass-hut, had been forgotten and left behind. I did not
miss them for a few days ; but as their loss could not be
replaced, I sent some people back, in the hope that they
would recover them. It was found that the huts meanwhile
had been ransacked by some mysterious stranger, and the
Vol. XL— 19
262 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
rare treasure had not escaped the keen eye of the hunter i
the boots, indeed, were hanging precisely where they had
been left; but every nail, and every little brass ring that
formed the eyelets for the laces, had been carefully extracted
from the leather, and were now probably gleaming in the
nose and ears of some swarthy beauty.
Early in the morning of the third day we entered the
splendid forest of Humboldtise, through which, only ten miles
to the west, we had passed at the commencement of our
Niam-niam campaign. After the forest came an open steppe,
with a distant view of the hills in front, which we should
again have to cross, though more to the east than before.
The passage of the Mah being accomplished, the ascent
began, and led through a wood, where the foliage was so
dense that it was quite impossible to see many steps ahead.
At this period I chanced to be nearly in the rear of the
procession, when my attention was arrested by an old black
slave in the pathway, who kept beckoning me to come to her.
I found, on going up to the place where she stood, that she
wanted to point out to me a black object that was about ten
•paces away ; at first I took it to be merely a great stem of a
tree that could only be indistinctly seen behind the large
leaves of the Anonae ; and I was about to make a somewhat
closer investigation, when all at once the mass began to
move, and a fine pair of horns displayed themselves. In my
impetuous surprise I fired mechanically, without an aim.
My sudden shot raised a storm that I had little expected.
In an instant a herd of twenty buffaloes, snorting and
bellowing, with tails erect, came galloping past in mad
career. Dizzy with confusion I discharged my double-
barrelled rifle amongst the brutes; another moment and I
could see nothing more than the massive foliage : the buffa-
loes had vanished, and I heard no more of them than the
distant thunder of their heavy tramp.
The hills before us were called Mashirr : thev were a con-
A HARTEBEEST KILLED. 263
tiimation of the steep declivity of Mbala-Ngeea in the west, to
which I have already alluded, extending onwards towards
the south-east and forming a portion of the ridge that had
been on our right during the whole of our march. On the
summit, as far as the eye can reach, there is an extensive
plateau, broken by detached groves and handsome trees, and
sloping down towards the north, to the depression of the Tee.
For the first time, after long missing them, we found some
tamarinds, under the ample shade of which we made a siiort
noonday halt, and then started off through some deep
defiles that led to arid plains. Before reaching the Tee we
counted four little brooks that flowed in an easterly direction
to join it ; the first of these, to the north of the hills, was
the upper course of the Nungolongboh, and was full of water
in a deep bed enclosed by an avenue of trees. A ridge of
hills ran parallel to our path upon the left, and after we had
crossed the second brook we observed a mass of red rock
rising to about 300 feet upon our right. Many small herds
of hartebeests came in sight. I lamed one of the animals
with a rifle-shot, and was grieved to see how cruelly it was
afterwards butchered by the Bongo, the poor brute being so
unmercifully mangled by their lances that I had no little
difficulty in getting a piece of solid flesh large enough to
carry off and roast.
So much time was lost in our chase of the antelope that
the evening came on whilst we had still some leagues to
travel, and we soon found ourselves marching on in com-
plete darkness. I was amongst the stragglers of our party,
and we lost our way several times before we w^ere finally
collected by the clanging roll of the kettle-drums on the
southern outposts of the Bongo. It was quite midnight
when, weary with our exertions and drenched by passing
through so many swamps, we arrived, after a circuitous
route, at the village of Ngoly.
At this place we remained a day to recruit our strength.
264 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
In the environs of the village I found the Encephalartiis
(here in its most northerly position), the seeds, as large as
hazel-nuts, strewing the ground in all directions.
At this season, too, the fruit of the wild date-palm was
ripe, and I collected a large quantity of it, with which I
made an unsuccessful attempt to concoct some African palm-
wine. The fruit possesses the same pleasant aroma as the
common date, but it is only a third of the size, and is very
unpalatable, being harsh, dry, and woody.
On the 3rd of July we marched, without a single halt,
for nine consecutive hours, until we found ourselves once
again in Sabby. The last few leagues were accomplished in
a drizzling rain. Large herds of antelopes frequented the
district ; but it was vexatious to find myself continually
foiled in chasing them by the over-eagerness of my own
dogs, which I was quite unable to restrain.
Our entry into Sabby made a wonderful impression upon
Tikkitikki. He caught sight of a number of cattle quietly
grazing before the gate of the Seriba, and, jumping to the
conclusion that they must be a herd of wild antelopes that
had accidentally strayed there, could not comprehend why
no one endeavoured to avail himself of so splendid a chance
to secure a prize. Subsequently, when he witnessed the
process of milking, his delight knew no bounds ; he laughed
aloud, and declared that so comical a sight he had never
seen before.
This journey had been one of the most pleasant and the
most successful that had ever been undertaken in so remote
a part of the continent. Its pleasantness was owing to my
state of health and to the fine air of the Niam-niam countries ;
its success was due to the favourable circumstances under
which I had travelled. In Europe the general idea of such
a journey is that it must be a sort of martyrdom, made up
of indescribable fatigue, exertion, and deprivation; but,
without hesitation, I can afiiim that, to a traveller who can
FIVE DAYS' REST. 265
only maintain his strength and activity, it is far otherwise ;
though he may find his enterprise laborious, he will not find
it wearisome ; it will be what a German would describe as
miihsam rather than muhselig. Fatigue and hardships are
estimated comparatively, not so much to themselves, as to
the ordinary comfort of domestic life. Those who are
acquainted with such fatigue as attends our modern warfare,
with its transient strain upon the powers of endurance, may
probably form a fair idea of the character of my exertions ;
but to all those who, like myself, have travelled by " Russian
posts " my worst trials and wants in Africa would appear
mere child's play. In fact, our days' marches were often so
short that I became quite impatient. Our Niam-niam cam-
paign from Sabby occupied 150 days, and in that time,
apart from a few unimportant deviations, we had only
travelled 560 miles in all ; according to the calculations as
registered in my journal at the time, the whole distance
accomplished was about 248 leagues.
After the forced marches, however, that we had just re-
cently been making, I was heartily glad of the five days'
rest which I was now enabled to enjoy in Sabby. A large
packet of letters was awaiting my arrival, and to read
through a correspondence which had been accumulating for
a year and a half was an agreeable engagement for the
period of unwonted repose. It was now for the first time
that I heard of Sir Samuel Baker's adventurous expedition,
and now that I got my earliest intimation of the Egyptian
Government having undertaken to establish a footing in the
Gazelle district. Kurshook Ali, a born Osmanli and one of
the chief ivory merchants of Khartoom, who possessed a
Seriba there, had been invested by the Governor-General
with the title of a Sandjak, and been placed at the head of
two companies of Government troops, one company being
regular Turks (Bazibazuks), the other composed of negroes
(Nizzam). Tlie arrival of these troops had excited a great
2G6 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
amount oi' consternation through all the Seribas, for, apart
from the fact that it too probably seemed to jeopardise the
very foundation of the rights of the holders to the territory,
it certainly presaged the levying of those taxes and imposts
which the presence of Government soldiers always entails.
What, in the first place, excited Kurshook All's cupidity was
to get possession of the famous copper mines of South
Darfoor. He was going to appropriate these in the name of
the Viceroy, but Ismail Pasha was caught in a trap, and
beguiled by the duplicity of a priest belonging to Darfoor,
who represented the locality as being his own private
property, exhibiting a forged deed of gift, purporting to be
made by the late Sultan, to corroborate his claim.
Hellali, for such was the name of the skilful swindler, had
for some time been employed as a secretary at the Court of
the Sultan Hussein, and, being familiar with the administra-
tion of the affairs of Darfoor, turned his knowledge to account
in fostering the animosity of that country against Egypt, its
far more powerful neighbour. He had not, however, the
slightest acquaintance with the property which he claimed as
his own, and led the troops, with their Sandjak, by difficult
paths to an uncertain iate, in a country that was scarcely
known even by name.
In possession of the Viceregal firman, Hellali had the
companies of black soldiers under his own orders, while
Kurshook Ali had only the Arnauts. The story of how
Hellali brought about a bloody conflict not only with the
occupiers of the Seribas, but (after the death of the Sandjak,
Kurshook Ali, which occurred soon afterwards) with the
Turkish soldiers themselves, must be narrated on a later
page.
After I had re-arranged and re-packed my collection, and
seen that it had been properly enveloped in waterproof cases,
I provided myself with a fresh relay of bearers, and, on the
8th of July, proceeded again towards the north. It was
A TRYING JOUENEY. 267
hardly in human nature not to be eager to get the provisions
which, having been forwarded from Khartoom, were now
delayed beside the sluggish waters of the Gazelle. Moham-
med, however, had not yet appeared, but was still making
his requisitions of corn in his territories amongst the Mittoo.
In consequence of his not returning with the anticipated
contributions there was an increased dearth in Sabby, and
my poor bearers were becoming absolutely destitute. Their
sufferings during their arduous five days' toil were little
short of incredible. The Seribas of Shereefee, which were
passed upon the way, were as " hard up " for sustenance as
Sabby itself; and besides this, the Bongo that were settled
thereabouts were all in avowed hostility to my own Bongo,
so that no spirit of hospitality was to be expected along
our route.
Throughout this portion of our trying journey, the bearers,
incredible as it may appear, subsisted solely upon the wild
roots which they could grub up ; they had positively nothing
else to support them, and only digestions such as theirs could
have endured the strain. The pressure under which we
laboured of accomplishing the journey without loss of time
was so urgent that there was not leisure to avail ourselves of
any temptation to the chase, and, however much we might
feast our eyes, we were under the stern necessity of keeping
back our feet from pursuing the elands and waterbocks
which had ventured from the wilderness and were grazing
peacefully in almost close proximity to our line of marcli.
It was on the 10th that we reached Shereefee's chief
Seriba, but we did not enter it. I had openly declared
myself to belong to Mohammed's party, and indeed could
not do otherwise than foresee the bitterness of those con-
tentions which so soon afterwards broke out and led to
such serious issues.
Most fortunately we were free from rain all the day. The
groups of sycamores, which on our former visit had furnished
268 THE HEART OP AFRICA.
such a commodious encampment uuder the shelter of their
splendid foliage, invited us once again to take up ouv
quarters beneath them ; but we had hardly settled ourselves
under their shade before we were surprised by the sudden
outbreak of a storm, which continued with much violence.
The woody landscape around was pleasant enough, and I
was compensated in a way by the beauty of the scenery for
the lack of provisions ; but I looked forward with eager hope
for a period of refreshment when there would be an end to
chilly baths and wearing apparel perpetually wet.
The passage over the Doggoroo was not made without
considerable trouble, as we had to fell some trees and lay
down a lot of brushwood so as to construct one of our impro-
vised bridges. The last night-camp between the Doggoroo
and the Tondy was deplorably wretched; our provisions
were positively exhausted ; all we could do was to send some
messengers to the nearest Seriba to insure that we should
have a supply of some kind in readiness for- us on the
following morning. It was also necessary to have extra
bearers, as comparatively few of the Bongo of Sabby had
any knowledge of the art of swimming.
After arriving at the height, from whence, for some miles
round, we could survey the expanse of the submerged low-
lands, we ha'd still several hours before we could decipher
in the distance the forms of the swimmers bringing the
burdens of which we were in such urgent need. My bearers
could not control their impatience ; greedily they pounced
upon the first bags of corn that were brought to land, and
without tarrying for the grain to be cooked, they thrust it
by handfuls into their mouths. Their strong teeth easily
crunched it up, the hard dry corn being as readily devoured
by them as if they had been accustomed to it all their lives.
Horses, or ruminants of any kind, could not more readily
have disposed of a feed of oats.
I had thoroughly to undress myself in order to pass over
CROSSING THE TONDY. 269
the flooded depression, and even upon the banks of the
stream I stood knee-deep in water. The passage over the
river was tedious, mainly in consequence of the sharp edges
of the marsh-grass and the numerous pit-holes in the bottom
making any rapid progress very dangerous. No less than two
hours had I to dawdle away my time in this cheerless posi-
tion before the caravan could be brought entirely over. A small
raft, constructed of bundles of grass tied together, was used
for the purpose of ferrying the baggage across ; and,
thanks to the excessive care that was used, not a single
article failed to be transported in safety.
At this date (July 12, 1870) the Tondy was flowing
with a velocity of eighty feet a minute ; the depth of the
channel, now over-full, proved to be no less than twenty-
four feet, and the eutire width of the stream, as it reached
from the reedy border on one side to that on the other,
extended to something more than 120 feet. The river had
now risen more than four feet beyond the ordinary limits of
its inundation, and our train had repeatedly to make wide
deviations from its proper route in order to keep where the
bottom was tolerably level and free from dangerous holes.
The day was well-nigh spent in contending with rain and
flood, and it was quite dusk before we hailed the welcome
sight of the hospitable huts of Kulongo.
There is a way of transporting baggage across such rivers
as are tolerably free from danger, which appears to me to
be eminently practicable, and to be suited peculiarly well to
this country, but which I was sorry never to see brought
into use. It is a method recommended by Barth * in the
record of his enterprise, and consists simply of making a
ferry by means of gourds. About a couple of dozen of
moderate-sized calabashes are fastened together and covered
over with layers of grass, and these are found to make a
♦ Vide ' Earth's Travels,' vol. ii. p. 254
270 THE HEART OF AFEICA.
raft, which is quite capable of bearing several hundred-
weight of goods. It has been to no purpose that I have
called the attention of the Nubians to this contrivance ;
although they seemed forced to acknowledge the efficacy of
the plap, they are not disposed to try it ; however, for the
benefit of future travellers, I beg to suggest it as a method
which, under many circumstances, might afford them
incomparable service.
Thus it was that after an absence of eight months I found
myself happily back again at my old quarters. The place
itself was little altered, except that the Seriba seemed to be
in a more flourishing condition than in the previous year.
The Bongo deserters, who had caused the failure of the
Niam-niam expedition, had in consequence of a campaign
against the Dinka tribes, on whose territory they had taken
up their quarters, not only themselves returned to their
former abode, but had induced three times as many Bongo
as there were before to come and settle upon Ghattas's
property. These people, who were now present in such
superfluous numbers, had ten years ago all taken themselves
off at the first appearance of strangers settling in their land.
I saw that numerous tracts of woodlands had been cleared
and brought under cultivation, and that various clusters of
houses and farmsteads had grown up around. Altogether I
should say that there could not have been much less than
600 fresh huts, which would represent at least 2500 souls.
Since my departure, too, Ghattas senior had bidden his last
farewell to earthly property, and his Seribas on tlie Upper
Nile had all become the inheritance of his eldest son.
After being away so long I felt that it w^as almost like
coming home, and realised something of the sensation of
treading again the soil of my fatherland when I gazed
afresh upon this country, so rich in its woodland charms, so
abundant in its smiling sunny cultivation, so contrasted in
its character to the gloomy and inhospitable forests of the
PROJECT OF SECOND NIAMNIAM TOUR. 271
Niam-niam, which I had just quitted. I could not be other-
wise than conscious that I had taken a step which brought
me nearer Europe. The large establishment with its diver-
sified population of full many a hue, the mere sight of
clothes and linen that had known what it is to be washed,
the unaccustomed diversity of victuals of which we could
partake, all seemed so different to the contracted resources
and meagre fare to which of late I had been subject, that I
could hardly resist the impression that I must be living
in a city, and could almost fancy myself already back at
Khartoom. But before that could happen there were many
obstacles to be overcome, and I must submit for various
reasons to stay where I was. The journey to the Meshera,
at this season of the year, presented nothing but countless
marshes, the very birthplace of the miasma, which in its
turn begets fever. Fresh deprivations for months to come
would be the penalty of attempting at once to proceed up
the river, and I had, moreover, reason to mistrust the capa-
bility of my constitution to withstand disease if I put it to
too stern a test. I resolved, therefore, to tarry as patiently
as I could, and to console myself with the pleasure of antici-
pation. In addition to this I had several important tasks
which had never been satisfactorily finished, although I felt
that the main object of my mission had been generally
accomplished.
The temptation to a second Niam-niam tour was too
strong to be resisted. I felt that it was my business to
strike while the iron was hot, because future travellers only
too probably would find that opportunities so good as my
own were closed against them.
Exactly a month after our arrival a party was despatched
for the purpose of fetching the supplies which were on their
way to me. Not only my own effects, but Ghattas's too,
were all lying crammed up in the meagre and not over-safi!
acconimodati<m of the hold of the boats.
272 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
One occupation which engaged my attention continuously
consisted in my supervision of the arrangement of my
miscellaneous collection, which had increased very largely.
It was necessary that everything should be put into a
condition ready for its long transport.
Another demand upon my time arose from my having
my correspondence for the ensuing year to complete and my
journal to transcribe. My industry at this period had its
full reward. The documents that I then copied and the
outline maps that I dotted down were all preserved, and.
were the only compensation I had to make good the sub-
sequent melancholy loss of all my other papers.
It will easily be understood how delighted I was, on the
23rd of August, to receive my new consignment of supplies.
Although a good many articles had either been damaged
by damp or devoured by insects, yet a sufficient proportion
of them remained so uninjured that I was perfectly satisfied,
and could venture with the utmost confidence to make my
preparation for another journey. I was able to distribute
a good number of presents of garments, pistols, and guns
amongst the controllers of the various Seribas, whose ac-
quaintance I had made, while the replenishing of my store
of beads and stuffs gave me an opportunity of making cer-
tain acknowledgments of the good offices of my attendants.
But the services which Mohammed Aboo Sammat had ren-
dered me were far larger than all, and for these I had no
return in my power to make.
Furnished thus afresh with a number of conveniences and
luxuries which the interior did not supply, I found myself
enjoying an amount of comfort that reminded me of Europe,
and in the improvement of the quality of my daily food I
almost forgot the hardships I had suffered.
By a somewhat circuitous route I had received several
cases of wine. This was a gift which was especially accept-
able, as being redolent of my distant home. That of which
KUEKUR. 273
I had dreamed as I tarried by the bauks of the Nabambisso
was now within my reach ; it was no longer tantalizing to
think of the " mountain port," for I had not only my bottle
of wine, but a plentiful supply of other good things in addi-
tion; and nothing would have been a pleasanter task than
to be able to entertain some lonely traveller like myself
whom chance might have thrown across my path. To be
able to open a bottle of wine at all in the heart of Africa
was such an inexplicable piece of luck that it involuntarily
brought to my mind the revenge of the gods and the ring of
Polycrates, and to say the truth it was but a passing pleasure.
I was desirous of devoting the remainder of 1870 to the
further and more complete investigation of the Dyoor and
Bongo lands. With this intention I betook myself next
to the Seriba of Doomookoo, and spent the first half of
September in an interesting excursion to Kurkur, a district
which, if ever the history of this land should be properly
written, will have a claim to one of its most prominent
chapters.
Kurkur, just at present a Seriba of Aboo Guroon's, twenty-
eight miles to the W.S.W. of the chief Seriba of Ghattas, is
a name already known, having been mentioned by Petherick,
who, as the first explorer of the district, in 1856, had esta-
blished a mart somewhere in the neighbourhood, making
it the extreme point to which he advanced in his search
for the ivory of the productive region.
Upon my route I crossed and re-crossed a number of small
afifluents which, coming westwards from Bongoland, joined
the Dyoor. I gave, however, a particular attention to the
course of the Molmul, which hitherto had been regarded
merely as an arm of the Dyoor, but which I ascertained
beyond a question to be an entirely independent stream. 1
crossed it close to Doomookoo, and again on my return at
another place eight miles further to the north. It bears
amonir the Bonoo the name of Mai.
274 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Between Doomookoo and Kurkur the scenery was pretty
and undulated, wooded eminences alternating with extensive
tracts of cultivated plain. The rises in the ground are made
by low ridges of hills that run in a north-west direction on
either side of the Nyedokoo, an affluent of the Dyoor that
is always full of water. I looked in upon two little Seribas
belonging to Agahd, called Kehre and Neshirr, and just
before reaching Kurkur I called at Nguddoo, one of Kur-
shook Ali's settlements. The various territories of the
different traders are quite confusing, as they lie scattered
about in little enclaves like the petty Thuringian duke-
doms in Germany.
The present Seriba of Kurkur is situated in a flat bushy
region, rich in every variety of game. I was told that the
former Seriba, visited by Petherick, stood eight miles to
the south-west, on the Legbe, an important affluent of the
Dyoor. Twelve miles further to the south, and parallel
to the Legbe, is the Lako, which is another tributary of
the Dyoor.
I remained at Kurkur for three days. Whilst I was there
the natives killed a couple of giraffes. The controller had
in his possession several of these animals alive, which had
been caught in the neighbourhood, and for which he hoped
to find a sale at Khartoom.
The spotted hyaena dogs {Canis pidus) are very common
in this region. These dangerous animals have a partiality
for the steppes and open brushwood, and, congregating in
herds, hunt down the smaller antelopes, especially bush-
bocks. No case was known where they had attempted to
attack men. Some of their skins are most brilliantly marked,
and exhibit such a combination of red, white, yellow, and
black spots that the hysena dog may fairly claim to be the
most particoloured of all mammalia. I saw one specimen
in the Seriba that was perfectly tame, requiring no other
restraint than a cord, and yielding to its master with all
DANGAH. 275
the docility of an ordinary dog. This fact appears to cor-
roborate the assertion of Livingstone (which, however, he
makes with some reserve, not having personally witnessed
the circumstance), that the natives of the Kalahari Desert
are accustomed to break in this animal and train it for the
chase.
Twelve miles to the north of Kurkur was another sub-
'sidiary Seriba, belonging to Aboo Gruroon, and called Dangah,
after a Bongo chief who lived there at the time when Pethe-
rick was in the country ; another surviving chief named
Dyow, also mentioned by Petherick, had his abode five
miles further to the west ; he came to pay me a visit, and
retaining the recollection of the condition of the country
under an earlier aspect now passed away, he made the usual
lamentations over the destitution of the land and its present
deficiency of game.
The Nyedokoo, enclosed by dense jungles of bamboo,
passes close to Dangah, and in the rainy season is about
thirty feet wide and ten feet deep. The inmates of the
Seriba were supplied by its bright and sparkling waters, and
I rejoiced at having an opportunity to send my stock of
linen that it might be properly washed. Of the forty Seribas
that I visited I saw scarcely more than three that were
situated in immediate proximity to running water, the
supply obtained from the wells being generally impure,
besides being obtained in quantities too limited to be of
much service for washing clothes.
The Khartoomers seem to have a very wonderful faculty
for picking out the worst possible places for the formation
of their settlements. Although they are excellent swimmers,
they are so accustomed to the dust and dirt of their own
home and to the turbid floods of their beloved Nile, that
even here, where streams are so abundant, they, have a
morbid prejudice against all pure water whatsoever. They
forget that the waters of the Nile are wholesome in sj)ite
276 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
of being turbid, and make no distinction between them and
the waters of the noisome swamps of Central Africa ; while
they heap imprecations upon the insalubrity of the climate,
which, they say, gives them pestilence., guinea-worm, fever,
skin disease, syphilis, and small-pox, they take no pains to
avoid the very spotg which are the primary cause of all their
suffering.
After leaving Dangah I turned back towards the east, and,
having called at Agahd's subsidiary Seriba Dubor on the
way, I soon re-entered my own headquarters. The circuit I
had thus completed was about sixty-five miles.
During my brief absence an event had transpired in
Ghattas's Seriba that had alarmed the whole community,
and which furnished a topic of anxious speculation for some
weeks to come. It appeared that two of the Nubian soldiers
belonging to the Seriba had betaken themselves to a Dyoor
smith in the neighbourhood for the purpose of getting him
to forge them some rings. While they were sitting in the
smithy quietly watching the operations, all at once they
were surrounded by a troop of Dinka warriors, who were
scouring the country. The sight of a couple of unprotected
" Turks " had suggested to the Dinka the idea of taking
revenge for the last raid that they had suffered, and the
unfortunate victims were attacked, cruelly tortured by lance-
wounds, and carried back dead to the Seriba. The entire
force turned out to punish the aggressors if they could ; but
the Dinka had had so good a start, that they were far beyond
pufsuit. The occurrence gave a general feeling of insecurity
to the whole Seriba; the people wore afraid to move about
unarmed, and. even in their ordinary domestic engagements
carried their guns under their arms. This excessive prudence
on their part, involving, as it did, a large increase of danger
from firearms, was far from agreeable to myself. The risk
of being burnt out was still greater than it had previously
been, and not relishing my position in close proximity to so
A NEW PROTEGE. 277
many straw-huts, I was anxious to set up ray quarters at
some little distance away; but Idrees, the controller, de-
clared that he should have to answer for my safety with his
head, and would not permit me to build outside the palisade.
On the 15th of September Mohammed Aboo Sammat
passed through the Seriba on his way to the river, with his
store of ivory. It was a good opportunity for me to send
intelligence of myself to Europe; and, under his care, my
letters were despatched by the speediest route, so that in the
course of five months they were in the hands of my friends.
A fortnight sufficed for the indefatigable Mohammed to
reach the Meshera, start off his boats on their way to Khar-
toom, and return to our Seriba.
Mohammed upon his return made me a present of a some-
what uncommon description. On his way through the forest
of Alwady he had fallen in with a troop of elephants, two of
which had been killed by his people, one of them being a
female that was accompanied by her still sucking calf. The
little elephant had been secured and attached to the caravan,
and on arriving at the Seriba was introduced to my quarters
as a gift to myself. I was in possession of a milch cow, and
took the greatest pains to cherish my new protege by supply-
ing it with large quantities of milk ; but all my attention
was in vain, the young animal had been so weakened by
improper or insufficient diet, and so exhausted by the forced
marches, that no subsequent care could save it, and in a few
days it expired. It was quite touching to watch the poor
helpless creature in its last gasps. Whoever has observed
the eye of the elephant will remember that, in spite of its
smalluess and natural short-sightedness, it exhibits an intel-
ligence, almost amounting to reason, that is seen in no other
quadruped. My juvenile specimen had already begun to
display the instinctive cleanliness of its nature. I was told
that on its journey it stopped at every pool and spring while
it pumped up the water with its trunk, and squirted it, as if
Vol. II.— 20
278 THE HKART OF AFRICA.
from a hose, all over its body to wash ofif the dust of the
road and the mud that it Iiad contracted in crossing the
swamps.
For my own amusement I had made a collection of several
other animals, which I lodged in my hut, in order to have
them under constant supervision and to be able to observe
their habits. My menagerie contributed very much to the
characteristic features of my hut. Outside were tethered my
donkey and my cow ; but the calf, being too delicate to with-
stand the rain, was brought in at nights, and fastened to the
tall scaffolding which supported my bed, the noxious miasma
during the rainy period making it desirable for every
traveller to spend his hours of sleep raised as much as
possible above the level of the ground. Different corners of
the hut, which was already encumbered with every variety of
furniture, were appropriated to my dogs, two caracal lynxes,
a ratel, or honey-badger, and a zebra-ichneumon. These
creatures lived in continual feud, and did not show the least
likelihood of becoming "a happy family." The honey-
badger and the ichneumon were perhaps the most amicable,
but even they were continually snapping at each other ; still
they iiever came into any mortal conflict. But the caracals
were utterly implacable, and fought most savagely : in spitt,
however, of their general faculty of self-defence, one of them
in a desperate encounter with a Bongo dog was bitten in the
throat and died on the spot.
I had brought a large number of lances and of bows and
arrows from the Monbuttoo, and felt inclined not only to try
the efficiency of the weapons, but to test the marksmanship
of the representatives of the various tribes that were in-
cluded in the promiscuous population of the Seriba. Accord-
ingly more than once I set up one of the Monbuttoo shields
as a target, and instituted a general shooting-match. Tikki-
tikki was an eminently successful shot, the grotesque atti-
tudes into which he threw himself to exhibit his dexterity
WOUNDED BY AN ARROW. 279
ever causing a great diversion : I was, in fact, quite proud of
my Pygmy, and his reputation was so bruited about, that
many Khartoomers came from distant Seribas to gratify
their curiosity by looking at him.
One evening during the exercises I met with an accident
which might have been serious, if not fatal, in its conse-
quences. An iron arrow struck my forehead and, although
it only slightly grazed the skin, the pain for a moment was
quite agonizing ; it soon passed oflf, however, and I took no
further notice of the matter than applying a little goulard-
water ; but, according to my ordinary habit, I sat up writing
until late into the night, exposed to a draught at the
entrance of my hut, and caught a cold in the wound, which
became exceedingly inflamed. When I woke the next
morning I was uuable to open my eyes, and on lifting up my
eyelids with my fingers, I could see in my looking-glass that
my whole face was immensely swollen. Fearful of erysipelas,
I could devise nothing better than wrapping up my face in
calico and staying patiently in bed. On the third day I had
the satisfaction of finding that the inflammation had sub-
sided, and that all fear of danger was gone. In regions such
as these the traveller cannot be too careful in his treatment
of even the most insignificant wound. Once before I had
experienced something of the sort during a forced march
through the desert about Thebes : a gnat had slightly stung
my instep, and such a violent inflammation had supervened
that I had been obliged to keep my bed for several days.
The proceeds of this year's cattle-raids upon the Dinka
had been exceedingly large ; and as Ghattas's company had
been prevented from carrying out a Niam-niam campaign,
they had been able to concentrate all their forces for plunder.
The captured cattle, under the charge of a number of Dinka
herdsmen, had been installed in a large yard set apart for
the purpose close to the Seriba. There was consequently no
lack of mcMt, and, at a very reduced price, I was allowed to
280 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
purchase whatever cattle I required to be slauglitered for
myself and for my people.
My milch cow was an almost invaluable possession. In
spite of its yield of milk being somewhat meagre, it supplied
me for eight months with a morning draught, and in the
subsequent season of necessity its contribution to my daily
diet was still more precious. Half the cattle sickened with
all sorts of internal disorders, and the greater proportion of
the animals that were slaughtered would not much longer
have endured the climate. I am sure, however, that notwith-
standing the fact that these breeds have been entirely
unaccustomed to salt, its admixture with their food would
infuse new life and vigour into them ; nothing but this, I
feel convinced, kept up my own supply of milk and pre-
vented my cow from becoming emaciated ; at first the dose
had to be administered by force, but the creature not only
soon became accustomed to it, but would run after me for a
handful of salt, like a lap-dog for its sugar.
During the rainy season of 1870 the Dinka cattle were
decimated by various plagues, and the district of the Lao was
especially ravaged, old Shol losing some thousand of her
stock. The most common of these cattle plagues was called
Atyeng by the Dinka, showing itself by open wounds like
lance-cuts in the hoofs ; sometimes the wounds would make
their appearance on the tongue, rendering the animal in-
capable of grazing, so that it could get no nourishment, and
sank through exhaustion. Another malady, called Abwott, to
which only the cows are subject, consists of a swelling which
affects the uterus, and carries them off in a night. A third,
known as the Odwangdwang, appears just as contagious, though
not so generally fatal as the two former ; the animals refuse
their food for forty-eight hours, but, under favourable circum-
stances, on the third day commence grazing again.
The Khareef of 1870 terminated on the 21st of September,
no rain falling after that date. A heavy fall of hail occurred
METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. 281
on the 25th of August, when the hailstones were as large as
cherries; this was the only time that I remember seeing
hail within the tropics, although in May 1864, when I was
on the Egyptian coast of the Eed Sea, just to the north of
the tropic of Cancer, I witnessed one of the severest hail-
storms that could be imagined.
This year's rainy season was remarkable for the violence
of the separate storms, but also for the small number of
decidedly wet days ; of these I counted ten in July, twelve
in August, and ten in September, the number altogether
corresponding very nearly to what I had recorded in the
previous year. Nevertheless, the rainfall was so great that
the sorghum in all the low-lying fields rotted in the ground ;
the condition of the crops, however, was equally bad in all
places where the soil, although rocky, was sloping, and threw
off the water too rapidly, for between the intervals of rain
the heat of the sun was so overpowering that the corn was
parched up through being drained of moisture.
By reference to a few notes that I saved I find that the 4th
of October, in a meteorological point of view, was an important
day, as being the date on which the wind first veered round
to the north-east. I cannot speak positively as to the date
when the south wind had first set in, as I was absent amongst
the Niara-niam and Monbuttoo at the time ; but my impres-
sion is that it was not far from the same time as in the year
before, viz., the 16th of March ; thus the entire period during
which the south-west winds had been prevalent was seven
months. But although the north-east wind had thus com-
menced on the 4th of October, there was no perceptible fall
in the temperature until the 20th of November ; after that
the thermometer at sunrise stood at about 70° Fahr.
As the flora at this season presented little with which 1
was not already familiar, my time was spent very much
under the same routine as in the previous autumn ; 1 con-
tinued my occupations of measuring the natives, studying
282 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
their diuiects, collecting insects, preparing skulls, and joining
the people in chase of small birds. But, all along, I did
not lose sight of ray projected journey, and applied all the
experience I had gained so that I might equip myself for
renewing my wanderings with the best advantage. My
health was by no means impaired, but, on the contrary, I
had gained fresh vigour in the pure air of the southern
highlands, where I had undergone more fatigue than I could
have previously trusted myself to encounter ; I came to the
resolution, therefore, that I need not fear to accompany
Ghattas's next expedition, and visit the central portions of
the Niam-niam countries that were still unknown to me.
The journey was specially attractive to me as promising to
enable me to complete my exploration of the hydrographical
system of the Gazelle, taking me as it would to the middle
sections of those rivers, which, indeed, I had already crossed,
but only in their upper and their lower courses. By this
means I indulged the hope that, under favourable circum-
stances, I might be able once for all to settle the details of this
particular district of the Nile territory, and so to make one
contribution more towards building up the true theory which
may solve the complicated problem of Central Africa.
Being desirous of making some exchanges and effecting
some purchases to complete my supplies, I set out on a tour
to Kurshook All's head Seriba, with which I was already
well acquainted. This excursion occupied from the 24th of
October until the 4th of November. The owner, as already
mentioned, had been sent out by the Egyptian Government
at the head of a body of troops ; but before reaching the
interior he had succumbed to the pestilential climate of the
Dinka, and had been succeeded in command by a Turkish
Aga, who had accompanied him as lieutenant, and who,
having broken up his camp in the Dinka country, had
turned farther to the west.
Credit had been opened for me in all the establishments
ACROSS THE DYOOE AGAIN. 283
of the Khartoomers, and not only were the magazines of
Kurshook All's Seriba amply supplied with stores, but
Khalil, the controller, received me hospitably and rendered
me all possible service, so that I accomplished my business
• most satisfactorily.
The little trip gave me another opportunity of twice
crossing the Dyoor, and thus, by taking fresh measurements,
of adding to the information I had already gained about this
important river. At ten o'clock in the morning, when the
atmosphere was at a temperature just under 80° Fahr., the
temperature of the water was just over 90°.
The passage over was effected in a ferry-boat of the most
wretched description ; it was composed of nothing more than
a couple of hollow stems bound together by ropes and
caulked with common clay, the miserable craft demanding
perpetual vigilance to keep it afloat at all. It is a striking
proof of the unconquerable indolence of the Nubians that
during their fifteen years' residence in the land, although
they are beyond a question acquainted with the art of ship-
building, they have never attempted to construct an
ordinary boat for the daily passage of such an important
river as this.
The aspect of the vegetation was very similar to that of
late autumn in Europe. Quite recently as the water had
left the steppes, the low parts of them were already begin-
ning to look withered, and in the woods the trees were
rapidly becoming more and more bare. Amongst smaller
and less important plants I found a considerable number of
new species, which either had previously escaped my notice,
or which probably do not spring up until after the receding
of the waters.
On our way back we were entertained in the little Seriba
Dyoor A wet, where roasted elephant-foot constituted the
speciality of the repast.
Before we reached Aboo Guroon's Seriba a ludicrous
284 THE HEART OP AFRICA.
circumstance occurred, which while it brought out afresli
the evidence of the dastard cowardice of my Niam-niam
interpreter Gyabir, who had made such an outcry when
wounded in the arm by the A-Banga, at the same time
exposed me to the risk of losing one of my invaluable*
guns. He was marching along in the rear of the caravan
when a number of Dyoor chanced to come across his
path ; mistaking them for Dinka, to whom they bore a
very decided resemblance, he took to his heels and made his
way to the most inaccessible part of the steppe, where he
intended to remain till night should enable him to escape
unobserved. Our route led us so close to the Dinka terri-
tory that we were aware no one could wander half a league
away without being in imminent peril of being captured ; it
was, therefore, with no small concern that on our arrival Ave
discovered that Gyabir was missing. We could only con-
jecture that he had lost his way. Aboo Guroon at once
despatched his black soldiers in all directions, but they
returned at nio^ht without having discovered the least clue to
the whereabouts of the wanderer. Early next morning,
to the general surprise, Gyabir made his appearance ; he
acknowledged that he had heard the shouts of the men who
were making the search for him, but that he could not
venture to quit his place of concealment, because he was
thoroughly aware that if by any misadventure he should fall
into the hands of the Dinka, being a Niam-niam, he could
have no hope of finding any quarter.
Whilst her-e I received sad news of my friend Mohammed.
On his way back from the Meshera to Sabby he had hoped
by taking a short cut through the wilderness to avoid all
conflict with the marauding parties of his enemy Shereefee ;
but, in spite of all his precautions, his antagonist had gained
information of his movements, and, setting an ambush in the
forest, made a murderous attack upon him. The assault was
fur more sanguinary in its results than that of the previous
MOHAMMED AGAIN WOUNDED. 285
year. As usual the Khartoomers refused to fire upon their
compatriots, and Mohammed was thus entirely dependent
for his protection upon his black spearmen, of whom several
were killed. Mohammed's cousin, who had brought the
stores from Khartoom, fell a victim to a gun-shot quite at
the beginning of the fray, and Mohammed himself received
so many sabre cuts about his face and head that, deluged
in blood, he was left on the ground for dead. Shereefee's
Bongo pursued Mohammed's Bongo in all directions, and
Blohammed's stores all became the spoil of Shereefee, who
did not as before scatter the beads and valuables about the
ground, but had everything conveyed to his own Seriba.
The booty amounted in all to at least two hundred packages.
The shameless marauder made an avowed boast of his
achievements, ostentatiously displayed his ill-gotten wealth
to all around him, and even strutted about arrayed in
Mohammed's new clothes.
In the course of the night Mohammed was picked up,
apparently lifeless, by his faithful blacks and carried to
Sabby, where he received every due attention, but it was
some weeks before he was sufficiently recovered to write an
account of his misfortunes, which he despatched to the
I'riendly Seribas, sending it by witnesses who could explain
the true condition of affairs.
These events naturally excited the utmost indignation in
the Seribas, all the controllers of which were friendly and
well-disposed towards Mohammed. The slave-traders, on
the contrary, who had settled in the country, smd all their
adherents, took the part of Shereefee. That a Mussulman,
on a peaceful journey, should be the subject of a premeditated
attack by one of his own faith, was a circumstance without
a precedent even in this land of violence and club-law ; but,
what most provoked my own anger and disgust was the cool
indifference with which the commander of the Egyptian
troops (the lieutenant who had succeeded Kursliook Ah)
286 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
viewed the whole affair. When Mohammed appeared in
camp and demanded that retributive justice should be
exacted for the ill-treatment and loss that he had sustained,
the commander endeavoured to throw doubts upon all his
statements, and did not hesitate, in spite of the testimony of
all the witnesses, to shield Shereefee, by whom, no doubt, he
had been previously bribed. Who shall say what order or
justice is to be expected in this land of license, when even
the Government official, sent out as the first representative
of the State to protect and administer its laws, could proceed
to such a degree of avaricious partiality ? And yet the
people in Khartoom have the audacity to descant upon " the
suppression of the slave-trade ! "
Aboo (xuroon, with whom I spent several pleasant days,
was busy from morning to night in his preparations for the
forthcoming Niam-niam campaign, and it afforded me much
amusement to watch him as he sorted out and packed his
varied store of ammunition. Several companies had com-
bined for the expedition, and he invited me to remain and
start with him, as Ghattas's party, to which I was attached,
would not follow for some weeks later.
In this common enterprise Aboo Guroon had a special
interest of his own, having but a short time since lost one of
his Seribas in the Niam-niam land. The garrison had been
massacred, and all the arms and ammunition had fallen into
the hands of the sons of Ezo, who having got possession of
the weapons turned them to such good account that they
inspired the Nubians with great respect for their military
skill. These events had taken place to the west of my
Niam-niam route, and had an indirect connection with the
proceedings taken against Mohammed by Mbeeoh, who had
been surprised by Aboo Guroon's company in the same way
as the combined companies of Ghattas and Aboo Sammat.
The scene of war had merely been transferred from Mbeeoh's
territory to that of the sons of Tombo and Ezo.
IVOKY EXPEDITIONS. 287
Although I should have much preferred to travel in com-
pany with Aboo Guroon rather than with Ghattas's agent,
there was one insuperable impediment: my baggage was
not ready, and it woyld require some little time to select
the articles that would be of most practical use to me as
well as what would involve me in the smallest outlay for
bearers. I was obliged, therefore, to forego Aboo G.uroon's
offer. If I had joined him I should have escaped the
calamity of fire from which I soon afterwards suffered so
severe a loss, but perhaps only to share a worse fate, for
Aboo Guroon was one of the first victims of an engage-
ment with the Niam-niam, a very few days after he
set out.
Just at this time all the controllers of the different Seribas
were actively engaged lq preparing for their combined and
extensive ivory expedition. With their aggregated forces
they hoped to subdue the refractory chieftains in the north,
who had been guilty of much treachery towards the Nubians :
their primary proceedings were to be taken against Ndoruma,
the daring son of Ezo.
It had been the rapid diminution of the ivory in these
districts that had caused the Khartoomers of late to direct
their expeditions to the territories of the powerful kings of
the south, leaving the smaller chieftains with a comparatively
insignificant interest in the traffic. These chieftains, there-
fore, did all in their power to obstruct the progi-ess of the
Nubians, and endeavoured by foul means, instead of by fair,
to obtain a share of the copper which they coveted. They
commenced a system of hostility to get possession of the
store of metal which, as long as they had ivory to dispose of,
had come to them in the peaceful way of commerce. To
the dismay of the Khartoomers, the natives soon showed
that they were quite capable of putting whatever firearms
they captured to a formidable use, and I shall very soon
have to relate how completely all the Niam-niam expeditions
288 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
came to grief in consequence of the vigorous opposition of
the natives.
Meanwhile I was fully occupied by my preparation for the
long journey before me. My anticipations were not to be
lealised. Just at the time when I was rejoicing that my
health had braved all the perils of the climate and my good
fortune seemed to be at its height, I was doomed to drink of
that bitter cup of disappointment from which none of my
predecessors in Central Africa have been exempt.
CHAPTEE XX.
A disastrous day. Failure to rescue my effects. Burnt Seriba by night. Com-
fortless bed. A wintry aspect. Rebuilding the Seriba. Cause of the tire.
Idrees's apathy. An exceptionally wet day. Bad news of Niam-niam ex-
pedition. Pleasuring distance by footsteps. Start to the Dyoor. Khalil's
kind reception. A restricted wardrobe. Temperature at its minimum.
Com requisitions of Egyptian troops. Slave trade carried on by soldiers.
Suggestions for improved transport. Chinese hand-barrows. Defeat of
Khartoomers by Ndoruma. Nubians' fear of bullets. A lion shot. Noc-
turnal disturbance. Measurements of the river Dyoor. Hippopotamus
hunt. Habits of hippopotamus. Hippopotamus fat. Nile whips. Recovery
of a manuscript. Character of the Nubians. Nubian superstitions. Strife
in the Egyptian camp.
The description which has already been given of the large
establishment owned by the firm of Ghattas, where, with all
my provisions, I was now awaiting the start of the caravan,
must have made the place in a large degree familiar to the
reader. For the clearer apprehension of the event I have now
to relate it may be advisable to repeat the following par-
ticulars. The colony consisted of about six hundred huts and
sheds, which were built almost entirely of straw and bamboo.
In the intervals between the huts were erected the large
sun-screens known as "rokooba," which w^ere made of the
same materials ; ■ and, to separate allotment from allotment,
tnere were long lines of fences, which were likewise com-
posed of straw, and these were arranged so close to each
. other that they scarcely admitted the narrowest of passages,
perhaps but a few feet across, to run between them. Every-
thing that human ingenuity could contrive seemed to have
been done to insure that, with the cessation of the rainy
290 THE HEART OF AFRICA
season there should commence a period of the extremest
peril, and, for myself, 1 can avow that fear of fire became
my bugbear by day and my terror by night. In spite of my
remonstrances I saw the crowding together of the huts con-
tinually become more and more dense, and the enclosure
packed full to the utmost limits of its capacity. It became
a manifest impossibility in the case of the occurrence of fire,
on however small a scale, to prevent it spreading into such
a conflagration that the safety of the whole establishment
must be imperilled. The material of the structures, dried
in the tropical heat, would accelerate and insure the devas-
tation that must necessarily ensue.
The catastrophe, which I had dreaded with such ominous
apprehension, befell us at midday on the 1st of December.
This most disastrous day of my life had opened in the
accustomed carrying out of its routine. I had been engaged
all the morning with my correspondence and in arranging
the notes of the various occurrences that had transpired since
the despatch of my previous budget. I had partaken of my
frugal midday meal, and was just on the point of resuming
ray writing, when all at once I caught the sound of the
excited Bongo shrieking out " poddu, poddu " (fire, fire !)
Long, how long none can tell, will the memory of this burst
of alarm haunt my ear. It makes me shudder even now.
Eager to know the truth, and to ascertain how far the ill-
omened apparition of misfortune had already spread, I
rushed to the doorway of my hut, and beheld that the
devouring element was doing its work at a distance of only
three huts from my own ; the flame was rising fiercely from
the top of a hut ; there was no room for hope ; just at that
time of day the north-east wind always blew with its greatest
violence, and it was only too plain that the direction of the
gale was bringing the fire straight towards my residence.
The space of a few minutes was all that remained for me to
rescue what I could.
MY DISASTER. 291
Without an instant's delay, my people flocked to the scene
of the alarm. Without stopping to discuss what was most
prudent or to cousider what was most valuable, they laid
hold upon anything that came to hand. The negro-boys
took particular care of all the stuffs, and of their own clothes
as being of the greatest consequence in their estimation, and
by their means all my bedding and two of my leathern port-
manteaus were carried safely out of the Seriba. I myself
flung my manuscript into a great chest which had already
been provided against any accident of the sort, but my care
was of no avail. My servants succeeded in hastily conveying
five of my largest boxes and two cases to the open space of the
Seriba >vhere the direction of the wind made us presume
they would be out of danger ; but we only too soon learnt
our mistake ; the wind chopped and veered about, and the
hot blasts fanned the flames in every direction till there was
hardly a place to stand, and it was hopeless to reckon upon
any more salvage. A prompt retreat became absolutely
necessary ; great masses of burning straw began to fall in
every quarter, and the high fences of straw left but narrow
avenues by which we could escape. The flames sometimes
seemed to rise to a height of a hundred feet above the com-
bustible structures of dry grass, and then all at once they
would descend, but only to lick with destructive fury some
adjacent spot, while a perpetual shower of hot sparks glared
again in the roaring air. The crowds, as they rushed away
before the advancing flames, were like a swarm of flies
buzzing around a lighted torch. I cast a look towards the
remnant of my property which we had thought we had
rescued, and to my horror I perceived that the chests
were enveloped in smoke, and immediately afterwards were
encircled by the flames. It was a moment of despair.
How my heart sank at the sight none can imagine, for
those chests contained all my manuscripts, journals, and
records, in comparison with which the loss of all the efiects
292 THE HEABT OF AFRICA.
in mv luit appeared utterly insignificant, though they were
the burdens of a hundred bearers. Eegardless of the shower
of sparks, which singed off my very hair, I made a frantic
rush forwards, the dogs, with their feet all scorched, howling
at my side, and breathlessly stopped under a tree, where I
found a shelter alike from the raging of the ardent flame
and from the noonday glare. In the confusion of the flight
I had been unable to get my hat, and was thus fully exposed
to the midday heat.
Below us from amidst the crackling waves of fire came
the crashing noise of the roofs as they collapsed, and ever
and again there broke forth the louder report caused by the
explosion of our ammunition, and many a loaded gun that
had been left behind discharged itself and exposed the fugi-
tives to a new and random danger. The Nubians behaved
themselves with a strange composure, not to say indifference ;
the majority had little or nothing to lose, yet many an
account-book must have perished in the flames, so that not a
few of them hoped to turn the disaster to a profitable ac-
count. The priests, however, were not quite so unmoved ;
they stood before their doors and howled out the shrieking
I'ormulai of their incantations, by which they pretended to
control the course of the raging fire. It was very remarkable
that the spot where a Faki had been buried, and which was
marked with a white banner to distinguish it as a place for
prayer, was spared from the general conflagration, although
it was within a few yards of where my burnt chests had been
laid. The departed Faki was now as good as a canonised
saint, and had proved himself a genuine sheikh.
The entire Seriba by this time was wrapped in flames,
which seemed still to spread in every quarter. The wind, as
it rose, carried away with it whole bundles of smouldering
straw, which it soon fanned into fire amidst the huts that
were scattered round on the exterior of the palisade.
Very dry at this season, the steppe had hitherto been
THE EESIDUE OF MY EFFECTS. 293
preserved, because the harvest was not yet complete, and it
was not very long before this too was caught by the raging
fire, and even the old trees around did not escape, so that it
seemed almost as if the whole district were being submerged
in a sea of flame. Half an hour had completed the great
work of devastation. After that period it was possible to
make a dash between the charred posts of the huts, but only
for a few moments, so intense was the heat of the ground
and so overpowering the glowing atmosphere that pervaded
the scene of destruction. A crowd of people kept on bringing
vessels of water^to try and extinguish the flames before they
had totally destroyed the clay " googahs " which held the
sole supply of corn.
After a while I succeeded in getting to my garden, wliich,
bereft of the greater part of its recently-constructed hedge
of bamboo, presented a truly melancholy aspect. As the
sun sank low we began to make a search for anything that
might have been spared amidst the still glowing embers of
the huts. I had saved little beyond my life. I had lost all
my clothes, my guns, and the best part of my instruments.
I was without tea and without quinine. As I stood gazing
upon the piles of ashes I could not help reckoning up the
accumulation of my labours which had there, beneath them
all, been buried in this hapless destiny. All my preparations
for the projected expedition to the Niam-niam ; all the
produce of my recent journey ; all the entomological collec-
tion that I had made with such constant interest ; all the
examples of native industry which I had procured by so
much care ; all my registers of meteorological events which
had been kept day by day and without interruption ever
since my first departure from Suakin, and in which 1 had
inscribed some 7000 barometrical observations; all my
ournals, with their detailed narrative of the transactions of
825 days; all my elaborate measurements of the bodies of
the natives, which I had been at so much pains and expense
Vol. II.— 21
294 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
to induce them to permit ; all my vocabularies, which it had
been so tedious a business to compile; everything, in the
course of a single hour ; everything was gone, the plunder of
the flames. It had b.een for the sake of belter protection, as
I thought, that I had resolved not to part with my journals,
and had kept my collection of insects in my own possession ;
I had been afraid of any misadventure befalling them ; but
now they might just as well have been at the bottom of the
Nile.
There 1 sat amongst my tobacco-shrubs upon my stock of
bedding that had been rescued from the flames ; but I fear
that I could not boast of overmuch of the spirit of resigna-
tion. The entire remnant of my property was soon reckoned
up ; it consisted of a couple of chests, my three barometers,
an azimuth-compass, and the ironwork which survived from
the different productions of the Niam-niam and Monbuttoo.
Evening drew on: just as usual, the cow with her calf
came and provided me with two glasses of milk. I had a yam
or two, a picking from the inside of a half- burnt tuber, a
morsel from a similarly half-burnt lump of pickled meat,
and I had come to the end of my slender stock of provisions.
My dogs kept up a continual howling ; their sufferings from
their burnt feet must have been excessive, and they whined
in concert with the general desolation. The servants,
however, were as calm and undisturbed as usual. Neither the
Nubians nor the negroes seemed to be much concerned ; and
why should they ? They had just nothing to lose.
I looked around and counted up my party. It consisted
of seven bipeds and seven quadrupeds ; the same number of
each, and each of about the same sensibility.
When the darkness of night had really set in, the region
of the Seriba had all the aspect of an active colliery. The
venerable fig-tree in front of the main entrance was still
flaring away, and the palisade was yet burning, apparently
^h^tting in the scene of ruin with a garland of light. It was
DESOLATION. 295
a ghastly illumination. To the Nubians tlie spectacle was
not altogether a novelty. The sight of a negro village in
flames was to them familiar enough ; but now the tables were
turned, and they had to learn for themselves what it is to be
hungry and destitute of every prospect of supply. Such
were the conditions under which that night we had to seek
our rest.
Hardly anything could be more impressive than the scene
that revealed itself on the following morning. Not merely
the places where the fire had raged, but the regions around
were strewn with a thick layer of ashes; the steppes and
sorghum-fields were whitened with them. It would be easy
to have imagined that the glowing green of the tropics had
for a time retreated, and allowed itself to be replaced by a
gloomy and wintry vegetation transported from the arctic
zone. Almost as white as snow were the layers of ashes that
had settled on the sorghum-fields, only broken by the heaps
of half-burnt clods that rose like hillocks of turf upon a
moor. The smoke still lingered on the ground, and veiled
the general scene ; the trees seemed to stretch out their dry
bare arms to heaven, and helped to complete the resemblance
to the winterly aspect of th6 frozen world.
It was a pitiful sight to watch the brown and swarthy
figures of the negroes, wrapped in their brown and swarthy
rags, run hither and thither amongst the still smouldering
ruins ; and the wretchedness of the view was not a little
aggravated by the bloated carcases of half-roasted donkeys
and sheep that lay scattered about in various parts. Troops
of women were bustling about and carrying water- vessels of
every sort, eager in their endeavours to put out the lurking
fire that was threatening the corn-magazines that hitherto
had escaped. These clay-built reservoirs of corn were the
only memorials that seemed to survive the devastation.
Blackened indeed by the smoke, the "googahs" were still
erect. Varying in height from five feet to seven, they were
296 THE HEAET OF AFKICA.
liardly ever vvauting iu the homes either of the Dyoor or
Dinka : and now as they stood surmounting the otlier-
wise universal debris, their very numbers made them con-
spicuous, and, forming a fantastic feature in the scene, gave
their testimony as to what had been the crowded proximity
of hut to hut.
Hurrying up from the surrounding country, the natives
flocked to search for beads amidst the ruins, although every
bead must necessarily have been spoilt. Others of them,
with a better purpose, set to work to construct sheds of
straw for the shelter of the houseless.
The next day was opened with a general effort to restore
the buildings of the Seriba. Hundreds of Bongo, Dyoor,
and Dinka brought the necessary wood, straw, and bamboos,
and proceeded to construct their new huts with much dex-
terity : on an average, six men would completely finish a
hut twenty feet in diameter in a couple of days.
No common sense had been learnt through the late
calamity, for not only was the Seriba erected on the self-
same spot, but in the selfsame manner as before. The fear
of being assassinated by the Dinka was assigned as the
reason for refusing to follow the example of Khalil, the con-
troller of Kurshook Ali's Seriba, who, in rebuilding his
establishment, had insisted upon placing the Vokeel's resi-
dence and the magazines alone within the palisade, leaving
the soldiers' huts in detached groups outside. In vain, day
after day, did I repeat my warning of the danger they were
inviting of the repetition of a similar misfortune ; but all my
exhortations to care and prudence were utterly wasted ; the
people were obstinate, and I could not help passing many a
sleepless night in continual dread of a second catastrophe
that I was aware I was powerless to avert.
The cause of the fire, when subsequently discovered, did
not give me the least surprise. One of Grhattas's soldiers
had been quarrelling with his slave, having accused her of
ORIGIN OF THE MISFORTUNE. 297
unfaitbfaluess ; and in order to frighten her, and extort a
confession of her guilt, he had discharged a gun into the
interior of his hut. I afterwards remembered hearing the
report ; as gunshots, however, were far from uncommon, I
paid no particular attention to the circumstance : but the
smouldering paper-cartridge had lodged in the straw-roof,
and ten minutes later the hut was in flames. Although the
origin of the fire was thus easily explained, the Mohammedan
fatalists never swerved from their belief that the misfortune
was unavoidable, and was ordained by the decree of destiny.
All my reproaches failed to reach the real offender, who
immediately after the fire quitted the scene of the disaster
he had brought about. But, in my opinion, Idrees, the con-
troller, was himself primarily responsible for all the trouble.
He allowed a senseless firing to be carried on inside the
Seriba, not only at every new moon, but on a hundred other
occasions, and I was in a perpetual state of vexation and
anger whenever I saw the lighted wads flying about amongst
the dry straw-roofs : then, again, he allowed each person to
increase the number of his huts, rokoobas, and hedges, just
as he liked, until the appearance of the Seriba was that of
an inexplicable maze. In his capacity of Vokeel it was
undoubtedly his place to allot a proper space to each indivi-
dual ; but so far from seeing that this was legitimately done,
he himself did his utmost to increase the complication of
buildings, and had erected a huge rokooba for his horse just
in front of my hut ; it was this very rokooba that had been
the means of communicating the flames to the chests con-
taining my manuscripts, as they stood on a portion of what,
previously to its erection, had been a wide open space.
By the 11th of December some newly-built huts were at
my disposal, a place of security on that day proving doubly
welcome, as a heavy storm of rain came on about four
o'clock in the morning, lasting for quite half an hour. This
exceptional storm rose from the south-east, veered round to the
29S THE HEART OF AFRICA.
south, and finally passed away towards the south-west. The
entire day remained cold and dull, with slight showers falling
at intervals. For the first time the temperature fell to
65° Falir., having previously varied between 75° and 80^.
The coldest season of the year now set in, and lasted for a
couple of months ; during this time the thermometer m the
early morning was comparatively low, and the barometer
varied much more continually than in the height of the
rainy season.
Bad news flies apace, and following close upon the
destruction of the Seriba came the intelligence of the total
defeat of that first detachment of the Niam-niam expedition-
that had been despatched to the south ; besides a number of
native bearers, 150 Mohammedans were reported to have
lost their lives.
The immediate effect of these disastrous tidings was to
make me know that all hope of extending my wanderings
in that direction must finally be abandoned. Bitter as had
been the misfortune that had befallen me, it would not of
itself have deterred me from my project of a second Niam-
niam journey, but, now that Aboo Guroon was killed, there
was no one who could provide me afresh with such articles
as I had lost. I possessed neither boots nor shoes, guns nor
ammunition, paper nor instruments, and even my watches,
which were so essential to me, were gone ; what use then
to think any further of a journey to unknown countries
under such circumstances as these ? Convinced of the
vanity of any attempt to proceed, I was therefore obliged,
with a heavy heart, to turn my thoughts towards Europe ;
no succours could reach me for more than a year, and even
then my great distance from Egypt made their safe arrival
more than doubtful.
Still more than six months remained before the trading-
boats would start on their return journey down the Nile ;
I felt bound to employ this time to the best of my powers,
FAREWELL TO THE SEEIBA. 299
and I was not long left to make up my mind as to what I
would do. Amongst the few of my effects that were snatched
from the flames I discovered ink, together with materials for
writing and drawing : and the sight of some sketches that
had accidentally been rescued with my bedding first roused
me from my feelings of total despair, and told me tliat I
must once again begin to collect and investigate, and pre-
serve my observations by means of pen and pencil. Neces-
sarily somewhat depressed in spirits I once again turned
to as many of my former pursuits as I could, although I felt
the increasing pressure of poverty and hardship, and was as
dependent as a beggar upon the hospitality of the Nubians,
many of whom viewed my presence in the country with
suspicion and distrust. My present discomfort was still
further aggravated by its contrast with the comparative ease
and abundance which the arrival of my European stores had
latterly afforded me.
I came to the resolution of quitting the scene of my
disaster, and, accompanied by my servants, determined to
withdraw to Kurshook All's* Seriba beyond the Uyoor,
where I knew that Khalil, the kind-hearted controller,
would render me what relief he could under my present
urgent necessities, although the amenities of life to which
the Nubians had any pretension were very few. Accordingly
on the 16th of December, followed by a small herd of cows,
I turned my back upon the Seriba that had arisen from the
ashes of its predecessor, and started by a new and more
southerly route for my intended quarters.
For nearly three years my watches had gone with
remarkable accuracy, tliey were ordinary Geneva ancres
perfecfionnees, having cost about twenty-five thalers a-piece ;
their loss was quite irreparable, for the Nubians have no
* The Turkish name is properly pronounced Kutshook Aly, but I give the
words as I believe they are more generally written.
300 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
other means of computing time than upon the great dial of
the firmament,* which requires no winding up, and they tell
the hour of the day by simply observing the position of the
sun in the heavens. The only resource left to me for esti-
mating the distance that I travelled was to count my steps,
and in my despondency over my losses I found a kind of
melancholy satisfaction in the performance of this mono-
tonous task, which probably had never fallen before to the
lot of any other African traveller. My patience, however,
was, as it were, an anchor of safety that I threw out after my
calamity: I seemed to myself like a ship, which, though
seaworthy in itself, has thrown overboard its cargo as the
only hope of getting into port. An enthusiast I set out,
enraptured with nature in her wildest aspect, and an enthu-
siast should I have remained, had not the fire clipped my
wings ; but now, helpless on the inhospitable soil of Africa,
I could not but be conscious how powerless I was to contend
with the many obstacles, both physical and material, that
beset my path; but in the place of enthusiasm, patience,
that overcomes all misfortune, came to my aid, did me good
service, and kept me from sinking.
I must confess that the first few days' journey threatened
to exhaust what spirit still remained to me, but by degrees
my equanimity was restored, and persevering in my design
I soon became accustomed to a practice to which I owe some
of the most reliable results of the survey of my route. As a
consequence of this method of counting my steps I succeeded
in attaining very considerable accuracy in the relative dis-
tances noted on the map, although very probably I may
have been unable to avoid an error of from 5 to 8 per cent,
in the absolute distances themselves ; of course, my steps
were not so perfectly uniform in length as the divisions of a
* The negro races of Central Africa also, -without any notion of hours as
a division of time, are able to indicate the time of day by the same method,
which for the eqiuooctial regions may be considered quite practical.
A PERAMBULATOR.' 301
measuring rod ; but, after all, the footsteps of a man are
a much more accurate standard of measurement than those
of a beast ; the camel, for instance, as is well known, when it
is urged to greater speed does not increase the number of its
steps, but only increases their length ; whilst the paces of a
man, at whatever rate he may walk, do not vary much from
an average length. Anyone may easily put this matter to
the test for himself by measuring the distance between his
footprints on the moist side of a river, and he will find that
no increase nor diminution in his rate of progress will make
a very material difference in their successive distances. My
own paces varied, according to the nature of the roads, from
two feet to two feet four inches in length, and my method
of computation is readily described. I first counted hundreds,
telling off each separate hundred on my fingers ; when I
had reached five hundred I made a stroke in my note-book,
and on reaching another five hundred I made a reverse
stroke upon the one already made, thus forming a cross, so
that every registry of a cross betokened a thousand paces ;
all beyond five hundred were carried on towards the next
stroke, and between the various strokes and crosses I inserted
abbreviated symbols, as notes about the condition and
direction of the road; thus I was prevented from either
over or under estimating the number of my steps, and at the
close of each day's march was able at my leisure to sum up
all the entries and duly record the result in my diary. In
the six months that elapsed before my embarkation at the
Meshera I had in this way taken account of a million and a
quarter of my footsteps.
The route which I had taken towards the Dyoor led
through Dubor and Dangah. On the 16th of December
the Molmul was still full of water, but had no longer any
perceptible current ; the brook passed along a considerable,
though gradual depression, the rising ground about Dubor
being visible for a long distance to the west. All the pools
302 'JHE HEART OF AFRICA.
and ponds by the wayside were now completely dry ; a couple
of swamps were all that remained of the affluent to which the
copious brook near Okale,* with its surrounding groves of
wine-palms, owes its existence. The Nyedokoo was reduced
to half its former dimensions, and was now but fifteen feet
wide and three deep, although the current was still strong.
Before its union with the Dyoor, the Nyedokoo receives
a considerable increase in its waters from the left, and on
our way north-west from Dangah we had to cross two small
brooks, both flowing into the Dyoor ; the larger of these was
called the KuUukungoo. We made a short halt in a little
Seriba belonging to Agahd's company, and then began to
descend the eastern side of the valley of the Dyoor, which
might be described as a steep wall of rock eighty feet in
height. We marched for a distance of four miles through a
lovely wood on the right bank of the river, and were greatly
diverted by the extraordinary quantity of hippopotamuses
that frequented this part of the stream.
I had the kindest of receptions from my old friend Khalil,
who did all that lay in his power to make my visit enjoyable,
and showed great sympathy with me in my misfortunes.
His magazines were plentifully stored with stuffs and ammu-
nition, and, as I had unlimited credit with him, he was able
to supply me with some of the articles that were more
immediately necessary, In the Seriba I found some people
who understood something of the art of tailoring, and with
their help I set to work, to the best of my ability, to make
good the defects of my wardrobe. By taking to pieces the
few garments that remained to me and using the fragments
for patterns, I managed to procure some new clothes, all of
which I cut out myself. In none of the Seribas was there a
single piece of linen or of any durable material, and I could
obtain nothing stronger than their thin calico, which, however
Vide Cliapter V.
COSTUME. 303
well it might do for the costume of the eflfeminate Arabs,
was hardly adapted for the pursuits of a hunter aud botanist
who spent all his days in thorny thickets. But a still more
serious inconvenience was the want of any proper protection
for my feet, and I could not at all get accustomed to wear-
ing the light slippers of the Turks. The loss, too, of my hat
was irreparable, but I contrived, a sort of substitute by
pasting together some thick cartridge-paper and sewing
some white stuff over the whole ; this hat possessed consider-
able durability, and in lightness was all that I could desire.
In spite of the poverty of my wardrobe I was rejoiced to
find that in cleanliness at least it was a match for that of the
Khartoomers, who attach great importance to their washing-
garments being of a spotless whiteness. The superiors
amongst them, such as the Vokeels and the agents of the
trading firms, even in these remote districts, not unfrequently
appear in Oriental costume as gorgeous as though they were
paradiug the streets of Khartoom; they all possess cloth
clothes made in the Egyptian Mamelook fashion, and these
are donned on special occasions, as, for instance, whenever
they pay formal visits to their neighbours. For my own
part I could never consent to array myself in an Oriental
costume, knowing that the most meagre garb of European
cut commands far higher respect throughout the domains of
the Egyptian Viceroy than all the most brilliant and elabo-
rate uniforms of the East. The adoption of the European
style of dress in Egypt itself has been remarkably rapid,
and between the years 1863 and 1871 I noticed a very con-
spicuous alteration in this respect, although unfortunately
the advance was limited to this external aspect.
The 25th of December was the coldest day that I expe-
rienced during my residence in the interior. Half an hour
before sunrise the thermometer registered 60° Fahrenheit,
whilst on the two preceding mornings at the same hour it
had stood at about 62° Fahrenheit ; but it never afterwards
304 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
fell so low again, and notwithstanding the coldness of tbe
mornings the temperature at midday rose regularly above
85° Fahrenheit, and on the 28th the thermometer out of
doors and exposed to a north wind registered 90° Fahrenheit
in the shade, whilst inside the huts it rose no higher than
88° Fahrenheit. The uniformity of the temperature thi-ough-
out the year is a remarkable peculiarity of these far inland
districts, which in winter-time are neither subject to the
great heat in the middle of the day nor to the cold by night,
which are experienced in the steppes and deserts of Nubia.
The temperature of 60° Fahrenheit was the lowest that was
registered during a residence of two years and a half, and
was quite exceptional, only lasting for a couple of hours just
before sunrise. As a comparison between this and the rela-
tively cool climate of Tropical America I may mention that
observations in Guatemala gave the average temperature for
a period of twelve years as the same as this one exceptional
minimum registered throughout my two and a half years'
residence in Central Africa.
The camp of the Egyptian Government troops had been
removed to the west, and was now a good seven days' march
beyond the Dyoor. For the maintenance of the troops,
contributions were levied on all the Seribas : the Govern-
ment, it is true, paid two Maria Theresa dollars for each
ardeb (1^ cwt.) of corn; but as the bearers from the more
remote places were obliged either to consume more than
half of their own loads upon their journey, or else to obtain
extra provisions from the Seribas through which they passed,
this payment was necessarily very inadequate. Some of the
controllers managed to raise their portion of the compulsory
tribute by sending herds of cattle to those Seribas that were
nearest to the camp, and there getting them exchanged for
the required corn ; but as some of the settlements were as
much as twenty days' journey from the encampment, it was
perfectly impossible to provide means of transport to such a
SURREPTITIOUS SLAVE-TRADE. 305
distance, and besides this difficulty, there was a constant
occurrence of scarcity of corn in all the Seribas ; the unrea-
sonable Turkish commander, however, took not the smallest
heed of these inconveniences, but, by insisting upon the full
satisfaction of his demands, went far towards hurrying the
settlements into bankruptcy and ruin.
Instead of introducing order and regularity into the
country, the first measures of the Government official tended
only to engender odium and discontent, and completely
crippled all the more promising tendencies of the mercantile
intercourse of the Seribas. For the suppression of the
slave-trade they did absolutely nothing. Along the Nile, it
is true, where the route was open and everything obliged to
be above-board, the Governor-General had commenced pro-
ceedings for the suppression of the slave-trade by a series
of bombastic and pompous proclamations; but here, in the
deep interior, there was every facility for the carrying on of
the avowedly prohibited traffic.
Nowhere in the world can more inveterate slave-dealers be
found than the commanders of the small detachments of
Egyptian troops ; as they move about from Seriba to Seriba,
they may be seen followed by a train of their swarthy pro-
perty, which grows longer and longer after every halt.
In the course of my narrative I have repeatedly shown
that the inadequacy of the means of transport throws great
difficulties in the way of the maintenance of a large and
concentrated body of men. Fifty pounds is the standard
weight of a bearer's burden on the longer journeys, and it
does not require much calculation to make it evident that
in comparatively a few days this burden will be materially
encroached upon by the bearer himself having to be main-
tained by means of what he carries; he must necessarily
exhaust it by his own requirements. Thus, for marches of
many days' duration, man becomes the most unsuitable of all
instruments for transporting provisions. It was, therefore, not
306 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
unnaturally a matter of constant consideration with me as
to whether this difficulty might be obviated in any way, and
whetlier longer expeditions might be undertaken into the
interior without that continual risk of the failure of their
means of subsistence, which was now so perpetually threaten-
ing them as often as they had to make their way either across
uninhabited wildernesses or through hostile territory.
The introduction into these lands of carts drawn by oxen,
such as are in use in South Africa, could only be done with
very great caution, as it would involve much outlay both of
time and money ; in the first place, the transport of the
heavy waggons themselves into the country would be far
from easy, and then drivers who could train the beasts to
their work would have to be obtained from remote districts ;
and even if these preliminary obstacles were overcome, it
remains somewhat doubtful whether the breed of Dinka
cattle could produce animals of sufficient strength and powers
of endurance for such a purpose. In addition to all this I
have already shown, in my account of my Niam-niam journey,
that it would be impossible to penetrate with bullock-
waggons of any sort beyond latitude 5° N.
It has been proved by experience thalTall donkeys, mules,
horses, and camels succumb sooner or later to the effects of
the climate ; thus oxen would remain the only animals avail-
able as beasts of burden ; but as those of the Dinka would be
as incapable of carrying loads as of drawing waggons, it
would be necessary to import suitable cattle from the
Baggara Arabs, thus following the example of the slave-
traders from Kordofan and Darfoor, who thence obtain all the
animals that they use for riding.
Any sort of hand-truck in these countries must necessarily
be limited to a single wheel, for, as I have often said, the
paths are everywhere quite narrow, being in fact no wider
than ordinary wheel-ruts ; in most cases they barely allow
any one whilst he is walking to put one foot before the
SUGGESTION FOR HAND-TRUCKS. 307
other, as the tall grass closely hems in the avenue on either
hand.
After giving much attention to the subject, I am con-
vinced that the most suitable form for any hand-trucks
would be something like that used by the Chinese, running
upon a single large wheel, which the framework that con-
tains the goods spans like a bridge ; a construction which,
it is well known, permits loads of considerable weight
to be moved by one man. In Central Africa, however,
these trucks would have to be made chiefly of steel and
iron, and ought to be constructed so that they should be
propelled by a couple of men, one pushing behind and one
pulling in front, by means of two poles run longitudinally
through the barrows. They would then, I think, be appli-
cable to every variety of soil, and would be equally adapted
for' the swamps and for the flooded depressions of the rivers,
for the rocky ground of the mountainous regions, for the
densest forest, and for what to broader waggons would pre-
sent hardly inferior difficulties — for the open steppes. I
should estimate that, at a very moderate computation, trucks
of this build could bear upwards of five hundredweight ; and
thus the traveller would find the number of men he wanted
reduced to one-fifth, and still be in a position to convey
everything that was really necessary. In 1870 I drew the
attention of African travellers to this style of truck, made
almost exactly upon the principle of the Chinese hand-
barrows, and I have since submitted it to the notice of the
German African Society, just now formed, in the hopes that
it may not immaterially assist their expedition from the
coast of Loango.
I spent the remainder of the year in Kurshook All's
Seriba. Whilst I was there, some Nubian soldiers arrived,
who, having been eye-witnesses of the late engagement with
the Niam-niam, brought us more circumstantial evidence of
the de''eat that the united forces of the several trading
308 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
companies had suffered. The caravan had been composed
from the three companies of Aboo Guroon, Hassaballa, and
Kurshook Ali, and included a larger number of bearers tlian
it was customary to take into the Niam-niam lands ; thus the
entire party numbered close upon 2250, of which not less
than 300 were provided with firearms. The accompanying
train of women slaves, that had never been tolerated at all in
the earlier expeditions, had been gradually increasing from
year to year, and was now of such dimensions as materially to
impede the daily movements of the Khartoomers, as well as to
increase the confusion in the event of war. The leaders had
striven in vain to do away with this abuse, but as it was with
some difficulty that these undisciplined soldiers could be
prevailed upon to join the arduous enterprises at all, they
were obliged in this respect at least to let them have their
own way. The assault had been made at a spot about a day's
journey to the north of the residence of Ndoruma, the son of
Ezo, just as the caravan with all the baggage was enter-
ing the obscure gallery of a bank-forest, and after the
two leaders, Aboo Guroon and Ahmed Awat, on their
mules at the head of the procession, had already emerged
i'rom the farther end. To the consternation of the Nubians,
the attack was rendered doubly formidable by the skilful
use of the firearms which the Niam-niam employed against
them from behind the massive tree-stems. Cut off from
their people, the two leaders were killed at the outset
of the conflict, the one by a lance and the other by a
bullet.
During the whole course of the battle, Aboo Guroon's
people alone displayed any shadow of bravery. A detach-
ment forced their way through the gallery, and rescued the
body of their leader from the hands of the enemy, so that
this old servant of Petherick, one of the earliest and most
experienced of the traders with the Niam-niam, was con-
signed to an honourable grave, whilst the dead bodies of all
A REPULSE. 309
his fellow-sufferers fell into the hands of the Niam-niam.
Ndoruma, who led on the attack in person, had some months
previously captured large quantities of guns and ammuni-
tion, and as he was in possession of several fugitive slaves
from the Seribas who had been familiarised with the use of
firearms, he had lost little time in compelling them to impart
their knowledge to their fellow-countrymen. The Nubians
have the most pusillanimous dread of bullets, and any
savage nation that enjoys the reputation of having guns in
its possession may be tolerably sure of being spared any
visits from them. It may therefore be imagined with what
success the Niam-niam pursued their victory, and with what
disgrace the intruders retreated in hasty flight. All the
baggage, including a hundred loads of powder and ammimi-
tion, fell into the hands of Ndoruma ; and a proper value
the cunning cannibal seemed to know how to set upon his
booty, for I was informed, that he at once erected waterproof
magazines for the protection of his treasure, and diligently
set to work to have his people well-drilled in the use of
the weapons they had captured.
From what I could gather from some Niam-niam with
whom I had communication, Ndoruma's enmity towards the
Khartoomers was not entirely founded upon the exhaustion
of the ivory-produce of his country. The Nubians, too short-
sighted to foresee the consequences of their folly, are
accustomed, whenever they can do so witliout injuiy to
themselves, to commence an unjustifiable system of depre-
dations upon any land from which they have no longer ■
anything to gain by an amicable trade. In this way they
have acted with impunity to themselves towards the Bongo,
Mittoo, and others ; but with the Niam-niam, a people whose
strength consists in their constitutional unity, they have
exposed themselves to a severe retribution. In their re-
peated razzias against the surrounding nations they have
been addicted to the practice of carrying off the women and
Vol. 11.— 22
810 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
girls, and this has roused the Niam-niam, who ever exhibit
uuboundeJ affection for their wives, to the last degree of
exasperation. It is this diabolical traffic in human beings
that acts as the leading incentive to these indiscriminating
Nubians, and has caused so much detriment, by the deci-
mation of the Bongo, to their possessions. In one part, as
amongst the Bongo, it has resulted in bringing about an
insufficiency of labour, and in another, as amongst the Niam-
niam, it has thrown a barricade of hostility across their
further progress.
Of the three companies that had met with this serious
repulse, Kurshook All's company had suffered the smallest
loss; its column of bearers, who were bringing up the rear
of the procession, had retreated in time ; but of the soldiers
of the company, who had naturally hastened to the assistance
of their fellow-countrymen, ten were killed and four more
were carried away severely wounded. According to the
protocol that Khalil received, all of these had been pierced
by bullets. Apart from the grievous loss of life and
property that this occurrence entailed, it foreboded nothing
but discouragement for the future of the ivory trade ; the
controllers of the Seribas felt absolutely powerless before the
overwhelming fact that the Niam-niam had used firearms,
and, under the circumstances, they were entirely at a loss to
know how to induce their disheartened troops to re-enter the
formidable country. The soldiers openly declared that they
had been hired to fight against savages on the Upper Nile,
and by savages, they meant people who used lances and
arrows ; but to do battle with people who were armed with
genuine bullets was going beyond their contract, and this
they positively refused to do.
All the bearers who had escaped from the conflict with
their lives, hurried back in crowds to their settlements, and
circulated in the environs of the Seribas the most horrible
accounts of the heartrending massacre they had witnessed. As
A LION SHOT. 311
the demands of the expedition had nearly emptied several of
the Seribas of their fighting force, those settlements that
were on the Dinka frontiers were consequently for the time
considerably exposed to the danger of attack from their
neiglibours. Accordingly, in the course of a few days, it
happened that we were solicited by the inhabitants of a
neighbouring Seriba of the deceased Aboo Guroon to send
thera an armed succour, as the Dinka around them were
assuming a most threatening attitude. Khalil complied with
their request by sending a small detachment of soldiers to
co-operate with the remnant of armed men who had been
left in charge of the garrison.
All these events combined to give my life in the Seriba
much more excitement than before, and my intercourse with
strangers was far from unfrequent. Many of the Gellahbas,
mounted upon their donkeys or Baggara oxen, passed through
the place to do business in the purchase of living ebony, and
their rivals, the Turkish soldiers, ever and anon paid us a
visit whilst on their way to make their requisitions of corn at
the adjacent Seribas.
On one occasion the surprising intelligence was brought
us that a lion had been shot on the sandy bed of the retreat-
ing Dyoor. In the early morning the animal had gone to
quench its thirst at the river, and had been tracked down to
the water's edge by a troop of soldiers who happened to be
passing by ; one of their number, though but an indifferent
marksman, had. aimed from a short range, and had succeeded
in mortally wounding the lion by a shot in the head. The
skin was dressed and converted into a splendid saddle-cloth,
whilst th(3 head was stuffed, and devoted to the mysterious
purposes of magic.
One night a deafening uproar suddenly arose : it was
followed by a horrible yell, accompanied by what sounded
like the wails, screeches, and howls of a lot of teri-ified
women. Every one started to his feet; the soldiers seized
312 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
their weapons; the captain of the Turkish guard, who
happened to be in the place with a party of bazibozuks,
rushed out with his troop, and increased the confusion by
sending forth a whole volley of the usual oaths and impre-
cations. It turned out, however, that there was no demand
either for his military services or for any of his bombastic
bluster. The simple cause of the tumultuous outcry was
the fall of an enormous tree near the Seriba. To save the
trouble of felling this monster of the woods it had been
gradually undermined by fire, and the negroes, in the course
of one of their nightly orgies, had been waiting for the
moment of its downfall, and were now bellowing and dancing
like maniacs around the prostrate and still smoking mass.
On the 25th I made an excursion to the banks of the
Dyoor, for the purpose of hunting hippopotamuses, as well
as of verifying the condition of the river by taking measure-
ments in two fresh places. Six miles to the S.S.E. of the
Seriba, I reached the left bank of the river at a place where
it was overgrown with tall reeds, and on our return we
crossed again four miles farther below. Between these two
positions was a deep basin, in which a number of hippo-
potamuses throughout the year found sufficient water in
which to perform their evolutions. A couple of miles still
lower down were situated the two crossing-places of earlier
date. Between the most northerly and the most southerly
of the four spots I have mentioned, the general direction
of the Dyoor is due north, varied by gentle windings to
the N.N.E. and N.N.W. Beginning at the most northerly,
and taking them in order, I will now proceed to give the
result of my observations on the condition of the Dyoor at
each of the four places where I crossed it either by boat or
by swimming.
1. At the first spot the entire bed was 800 feet wide, but
on the 28th of April, 1869, the water only extended to the
width of eighty feet, being from one to four feet in depth,
THE BED OF THE DYOOR. 313
The edge of the bank stood from twenty to twenty-five feet
above the water.
2. At the next point of examination the measuring-line
gave the width of the bed from bank to bank as 302 feet.
On the 8th of May, 1869, the river was full, and three or
four feet deep. On the 27th of October, and on the 1st
of November, 1870, the depth was from sixteen to twenty
feet, whilst the banks were already three or four feet above
the surface of the water. The velocity of the current on the
left and western shore was 105 feet per minute, whilst on
the eastern it was 137^ feet. It could be seen by the flood-
marks that in the height of the rainy season (i.e. in August
and September) the entire depression, extending from 1000
to 1200 paces on the left shore, and only 100 paces broad on
the right, was covered with water to a depth of three or four
feet.
3. The bed of the river at the third place, where I sub-
mitted it to my examination, was 328 feet wide, and on the
18th and 25th of December was full. For a distance of
sixty feet from the right-hand bank, the depth of the water
was little more than a foot, then for 100 feet in the middle
of the stream it was about two feet, and subsequently for
the remainder of the width as far as the left bank it increased
to four feet. On the western shore, where the river de-
pression stretched out in wide tracts, the current was far
stronger than on the eastern, where the wooded rocks extend
close down to the edge of the water. Near this place the
condition of the depression of the river was exceptional,
being of an equal breadth of about 600 feet on either side
of the stream.
4. The bed of the stream at the last of my points of
observation was, according to the measuring-line, 492 feet
wide. On the 25th of December, 1870, it was only half full
of water. Near the reedy left-hand bank alone was the
water of any considerable depth : at that spot it was about
314 THE HEART OV AFRICA.
four feet deep, but nowhere else was it more than two feet.
The current was strongest in the middle of the stream : it
is a peculiarity of the Dyoor that its current has always the
same velocity, and does not appear to be at all affected by
the variations in the height of the water.
I sat for hours upon the rocky slopes of the right banh
of the river watching the hippopotamuses as they plunged
about in the water, and occasionally firing at them as oppor-
tunities occurred for an aim ; but a light rifle was all that
I had saved from the fire, and the small shot that it carried
did not have much effect upon the unwieldy beasts. The
range of my rifle was rarely more than 150 feet, and of
the hundred shots that I discharged very few did any serious
damage, and only two animals appeared to be mortally
wounded. Early on the following morning the natives oi
the surrounding districts found the body of one of the
creatures that I had killed by a bullet behind the ear lying
amongst the reeds in the river-bed, and they spent several
hours in cutting up the ponderous carcase.
The colour of nearly all these animals was a dark fleshy
red, almost like raw meat, marked irregularly with large
black spots ; I also saw specimens of a lighter shade, but
never of a pure white; in the sunshine their damp bodies
assumed quite a blueish-grey hue. Half of the hippo-
potamuses that I noticed at this deep part of the river, which
extended for about a mile, were females carrying their
young, which at this season seemed very weak and unde-
veloped, and sat astride on the short necks of their mothers.
The females appeared to rise to the surface of the water
for the sake of their young far more frequently than was
necessary for their own accommodation, and unlike the
males, which usually show their mouth and nostrils, they
only lifted their young above the water, whilst their own
1 leads generally remained invisible. The animals seem to
utter different sounds at different seasons; they now snorted
THE TENANTS OF THE DYOOK. 315
and grunted, or rather groaned, aud the sharp rattling gurgle
was less distinct than in the spring. In the sunlight the
fine spray emitted from their nostrils gleamed like a ray of
light.
Now and then, with a frightful roar that resounded far
away, the males would leap violently from the water, dis-
playing all the forepart of their huge body; they seemed
to be scuffling together, but whether they were quarrelling
for a monopoly of the limited space, or whether they had
been hit by some of my bullets, I could not determine.
Their small pointed ears were remarkably flexible, and were
continually moving to and fro as the animals listened to
distant sounds or flapped away the settling insects. All
other characteristics of the hippopotamus are so well known
that it would be superfluous to introduce any further descrip-
tion of them here.
To the same degree as its waters were enlivened by fish
and hippopotamuses, were the banks of the Dyoor animated
by birds and many varieties of animals. The forests were
denizened by several species of the monkey family, that
during the winter months found there an abundant harvest
of ripened fruit. The grotesque form of the red-billed
Nashorr-bird rocked to and fro on the half-bare branches,
and one of the most splendid of African birds, the sky-blue
Elminia, was especially frequent. The bare sand-flats in the
half dry river-bed were the favourite resorts of the water-
birds. The quaint-looking umbers (Scopus umhretta), which
are generally seen sitting solitary by the shady swamps in
the woods, were here marshalled along the banks in flocks of
twelve or fifteen ; these birds, with their ponderous crested
heads pensively drooping in the noontide heat, seemed in
their " sombre weeds " rather to belong to the dreary wastes
of the chilly north than to the smiling grass-plains of the
Upper Nile. Then there were the great herons {Myderia
senegalensis) gravely strutting about, or skimming the dark
316 THE HEART OF AFIUCA.
blue surface of the water on their silvery pinions. The
Khartoomers call this bird Aboo Mieh, or father of hundreds,
in commemoration of the munificence of a traveller who is
said to have given a hundred piastres (five dollars) for the
first specimens of this noble bird. In other places the sacred
ibises had congregated into groups, and with their bills
turned towards the water, stood or squatted motionless under
the vertical beams of the midday sun. The return of the
dry and cool winter months regularly brings these birds,
like their compatriots the Khartoomers, into the more
southerly negro-countries. Ever and again the sharp cry
of the osprey from some invisible quarter would rouse the
traveller from his reveries, as though by its yelling laughter
it were mocking at his meditations. Storks, which are so
prominent a feature in the Central Soudan, and are so highly
reverenced in Adamawa, did not appear in these regions,
and throughout my journey to the Niam-niam I never saw
them.
We were hard at work on the following day in turning
the huge carcase of the hippopotamus to account for our
domestic use. My people boiled down great flasks of the
fat which they took from the layers between the ribs, but
what the entire produce of grease would have been I was
unable to determine, as hundreds of natives had already cut
oft' and appropriated pieces of the flesh. When boiled,
hippopotamus-fat is very similar to pork-lard, though in the
warm climate of Central Africa it never attains a consistency
firmer than that of oil. Of all animal fats it appears to be
the purest, and at any rate never becomes rancid, and will
keep for many years without requiring any special process
of clarifying ; it has, however, a slight flavour of train-oil, to
which it is difficult for a European to become accustomed.
It is stated in some books that hippopotamus-bacon is quite
a delicacy, but I can by no means concur in the opinion ; I
always found it unfit for eating, and when cut into narrow
KUEBATCHES. 317
strips and roasted, it was as hard and tough as so much
rope ; the same may be said of the tongue, which I often had
smoked and salted. The meat is remarkably fibrous, and is
one continuous tissue of sinews.
Several hundred Nile-whips or kurbatches can be made
from the hide of a single animal, and afterwards, in Egypt,
my servants made a profitable little market by selling the
whips, for which they found a ready demand. By a propei'
application of oil, heat, and friction, they may be made as
flexible as gutta percha. The fresh skin is easily cut cross-
wise into long quadrilateral strips, and when half dry, the
edges are trimmed with a knife, and the strips are hammered
into the round whips as though they were iron beaten on an
anvil. The length of these much dreaded " knouts " of the
south is represented by half the circumference of the body
of the hippopotamus, the stump end of the whip, which is
about as thick as one's finger, corresponding to the skin on
the back, whilst the point is the skin of the belly.
By a remarkable accident one of my most important
manuscripts, happily for me, escaped the conflagration in
Ghattas's Seriba. The explosion of a chest of ammunition
had sent the book flying high into the air, where it had
been caught by a current of wind caused by the glow, and,
being carried for some distance, fell to the ground in a wood
outside the Seriba; after the lapse of many days it was
picked up by some natives and brought to me with no other
damage than that the edges of the leaves had been slightly
singed. The manuscript contained a copious vocabulary of
the Bongo dialect and a collection of carefully translated
phrases and sentences. I could not fail to accept this
recovered treasure as an incitement to the further prosecu-
tion of my linguistic studies, and I set to work at once to
replace my Dyoor and Niam-niam vocabularies. The idioms
of the far south and east, which I had so laboriously com-
mitted to writing, the dialects of the l^Iittoo tribes, of tlie
318 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Behl, of the Babuckur, and the Monbuttoo, were unfor-
tunately irrecoverably lost, for during my subsequent
residence in the Seribas I could never meet with competent
interpreters.
My old friend Khalil commanded greater respect from his
subordinates, and maintained more order and discipline in
his Seriba, than any other controller belonging to a Khar-
toom mercantile firm with whom I ever became acquainted.
With him, the settler who had been longest in the country,
I spent many a pleasant hour, and from his confidential
gossip I gained many a hint that enabled me to form an
accurate judgment upon the state of affairs. He complained
very much about the undisciplined troops of his countrymen
that were sent to him from Khartoom ; he emphatically
denounced the slave trade, and although he could not enter
much into the humanity of the attempts for its suppression,
yet he was fully alive to the disadvantages that it exercised
upon the internal administration of the Seribas. He was
extremely anxious that the natives under his jurisdiction
should suffer no diminution in their numbers, and would
often dispute with the itinerant slave-dealers their right to
carry off property that they had obtained from his territory ;
he even endeavoured to exercise control over his subordinates
in the subsidiary Seribas, although they generally contrive^
to elude his watchfulness. Whenever it happened that any
orphan Dyoor or Bongo children had been sold to the
Gellahbas, he would use all sorts of remonstrances and
would spare no argument to induce the traders to surrender
their booty.
" This boy," he would say, " you can't have him : in the
course of three or four years he will be old enough to be a
bearer, and will be able to carry his 70 lbs. of ivory to the
Meshera ; and this girl, you mustn't take her : she will soon
be of an age to be married and have children. Where do
you suppose I am to get my bearers in future, if you run off
NUBIAN CHARACTER. 319
with all the boys? and where do you expect that I shall find
wives for my Bongo and Dyoor, if you carry all the girls
out of the country ? "
However reserved might be my behaviour towards the
Nubians, yet my long period of daily intercourse withthe m
gave me a tolerably deep insight into their character. It
may perhaps appear incomprehensible how, with any equani-
mity, I could have endured for two years and a half the
exclusive society of what was,, for the most part, a mere
rough rabble; but it must be remembered that the social
position that I was able to maintain amongst them was very
different to what it would have been amongst a party of
rude and unpolished Europeans, and their religious fana-
ticism, as well as the entire difference of their habits, raised
a strong barrier of defence against any sort of intimacy.
Amongst the thousands of Nubian colonists with whom I
was thrown in contact, I never met with a single individual
who offered me any insult either in word or deed ; I never
had occasion to enter into anything like domestic relations
with them, and never did otherwise than eat and sleep per-
fectly alone and in the seclusion of my own hut. But in spite
of all my reserve I was a constant witness of the scenes in
their daily life, and I believe that very few of their habits
escaped my notice ; it may not, therefore, be altogether
uninteresting to insert here some results of my observations
upon the character of my old travelling companions.
Throughout this account of my wanderings I have, for the
sake of simplicity, always used the term "Nubians" to
denote the present inhabitants of the Nile Valley, in contra-
distinction to the Egyptians and true Arabs (Syro- Arabians)
on the one hand, and to the Ethiopian Bedouins and true
Negroes on the other. I do not for a moment deny that the
present Nubians (meaning by this term only the people who
dwell on the banks of the river) must have sprung from
various races. Independently of the three dialects ot
320 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the Nubian language, which are those of Dongola, of Kenoos,
and of Mahass (in which it is supposed that the still un-
deciphered ancient Ethiopian inscriptions are written), and
independently of Arabic being the actual mother-language
of the natives, who have, in fact, immigrated from Asia, and
some of whom, as for instance the Sheigieh, have hitherto
remained ignorant of the Nubian language altogether ;
they are yet all so united by one common bond alike of
general habits and physical character, that they no longer
exhibit any perceptible distinctions. It must also be remem-
bered that these Nubian natives of the Nile district have for
centuries not only intermarried with each other, but have also
mixed so indiscriminately with slaves of every origin, that
they have lost all traces of being other than a single race.
Accordingly the use of the term *' Nubian," under the
restriction named, may be justified in more than one respect,
and may be fairly employed in geographical, ethnographical,
or historical relations.
Whoever has become acquainted with the passive natives
of Berber or Dongola * in Egypt only, or more especially in
Alexandria, where they are trusted with the charge of house
and home, and whoever has witnessed the patience with which
they endure the antipathy of the residents, will be at a loss
how to reconcile his own impression with the unfavourable
one given by a traveller so faithful as Burckhardt,t who knew
them before they were subjected to Egyptian domination, and
has left on record his version of their national character.
As far as my own experience went, with regard to morality,
T decidedly preferred the people of Berber to the Egyptians,
and I believed that the change foi- the better that had taken
place since Burckhardt's visit to Berber and Shendy in 1822,
had been owing to the more rigid government of the Turks
* The Egyptians call them simply " Barabra."
t, ' Travels in Nubia," by the late John Lewis Burckhanlt. London, 1822.
VIRTUES AND VICES. 321
on the one hand, and to the increasing physical luxury of the
people of Berber on the other; for in their own homes 1
never found them to be otherwise than quiet and harmless.
My impressions, however, were at that time very imper-
fect ; but when I saw the people on the territory of the Bahr-
el-Ghazal, that pasture-land for their hungry spirits, where
they are beyond the jurisdiction ol the Government and are
no longer in dread of bastinadoes, extortions, taxation, or
summonses to the divans of the satraps, and where there are
no Egyptians to mock them with the insulting cry of
" Barabra," — then I discovered the true side of their nature,
and all their leading traits came fully to light. Their cha-
racter, a curious mixture of exemplary virtues and most
repulsive vices, was not like a mechanical medley of an-
tagonistic qualities, but was a composition in which each
single quality seemed to partake of mingled good and evil,
though unfortunately the evil decidedly preponderated.
If an Alexandrian merchant were asked for a character of
his Nubian servant or baob, he would probably give it some-
thing in the following way : " My servant is a man ^^ horn I
would confidently trust with untold gold, and yet there is
no one to whom he is more indifferent than to myself. I am
convinced that if I were in danger he would not stir a finger
to save me." And this judgment would indeed be perfectly
fair; the faithfulness of the Nubians is merely inspired by
their cowardice, otherwise it would not be limited to money
or things of a similar nature. Pilfering is not one of their
failings, and is unheard of even in their lawless proceedings
in the wilderness of the Upper Nile. As long as I lived
amongst them they never robbed me of the smallest article
of my property, and in this respect their behaviour offered
a very favourable contrast to what I experienced from
the Egyptians, whose thievish propensities have already
been placed by Burckhardt in unfavourable contrast to
the honesty of the Nubians. It is not, however, a genuine
322 THE HEART OF AFPJCA.
sense of right that makes the Nubians honest, but rather the
want of courage that pervades all their dealings: courage,
whether for good or for evil, physical or moral, is entirely
wanting amongst them. Their agreement one with another,
and the promptitude with which every one feels bound to
check a rising quarrel, whether it concern himself or not,
arises from this same defect. Their indomitable striving for
freedom is only the utterance of a spirit that rebels against
order of any kind, and refuses even to be compelled to
cleanliness ; but at the same time it cannot be denied that
sparks of a nobler nature can be traced in this part of their
character, and they show a degree of patriotism, a feeling of
nationality, and a resistance to usurped authority, all of which
are sentiments quite unknown to the Egyptians.
Untruthfulness has become to them a second nature, and
most of them will tell lies by habit, even when it is not of
the smallest advantage to conceal the truth.
They display a far greater amount of religious fanaticism
in the Seribas than in their own homes, as may be seen in
their behaviour towards the heathen negroes, and I should
fill a long chapter if I were to attempt to illustrate my
account by the various examples of this of which I was
myself a witness. To their ineradicable belief in witches
and in the periodic migration of souls into the bodies of
hysenas, I have already made several allusions. But the
most monstrous of all their practices was that of liver-eating,
of which some of the soldiers (though I must confess they
were only exceptions) were shamelessly guilty during their
encounters with the heathen. In Nubia dogs are trained for
the chase in rather a remarkable manner : for a long time
they are deprived of all animal food, but the first time after-
wards that an antelope is killed they are fed with its still
reeking liver ; by this means the dog is accustomed to
the scent, and becomes so wild and bloodthirsty, that it is
always eager to track and hunt down its prey. It is probably
PEEJUDICES. 823
this custom that has caused the liver-eating people to
imagine that by a similar method they may make them-
selves invincible in battle ; perhaps they entertain the
belief, that after partaking of such food, a portion of the
power and courage of their fallen foe may pass into the
vanquisher.
Other notions, very similar in character, appear to be
widely diffused throughout the Mohammedan world. In
their bigoted prejudices the Mohammedans imagine that
the Christians are just as fanatical as themselves ; the pitch
to which their imagination will carry them about the actions
of which they believe Christians to be guilty may be
illustrated by the following anecdote : A friend of mine,
who held the post of Government physician in a town on
the Ked Sea, proposed one day, in order to gain a more
accurate knowledge of a disorder that was raging in the
place, to dissect the body of a pilgrim, a stranger without
kith or kin, who had died in the hospital. The doctor had
long been on the look-out for an opportunity of this kind,
but up to this time had never had a body which he could
consider as being at his own disposal ; now he thought he
had a chance of making his investigations in peace and
quietness. But his project was quickly to be frustrated.
The hospital servants, perceiving his , preparations, rushed
horrified to the Governor ; . the news spread like wild-fire
through the little town ; the principal inhabitants met and
consulted, and authorised a deputation to wait upon the
Governor, who, at their instance, commanded the physician,
under penalty of forfeiting his post, to desist from the opera-
tion. The offender also received a severe reprimand from
the sanitary authorities, who expressed their indignation
that he should have been guilty of such an outrage upon
the customs of the land. The citizens were at length
pacified, but for long afterwards the revolting report was
current amongst them that the doctor, being a Christian,
324 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
bad been about to take tbe opportunity of eating the heart
of a Mussulman and of drinking his blood !
Khalil told me that in his own home it was the general
belief, in which, although he now knew better, he had him-
self been a firm believer, that when a Mussulman enters the
land of the Franks he is at once caught and put into a
cage, where he is carefully fattened; as soon as he is nice
and plump, he is placed upon a gridiron over a fire that has
been lighted in a pit below ; the fat is collected as it drops
from his body, and from this fat of the faithful it is believed
that the Franks prepare their most subtle poisons.
Whenever a horse or a donkey gets in any way sickly it
is compelled to swallow pieces of pork ; this is considered as
an infallible cure throughout the whole of Nubia, and in some
of the heathen negro-countries, where tame pigs are unknown,
the flesh of the wild hog (Phacochserus) is used as a substitute.
The practice in Zanzibar and in other places subject to the
Arabian semi-culture of introducing pigs into the stalls with
the horses for the purpose of attracting the devil from them
into the swine, is unknown to the Nubians, but probably
only for the reason that stalls do not exist in the Soudan.
Amulets* are not only worn by dozens round the arms of
the *' believers," but are affixed to the doors of the houses
as a protection from fire, and, what may sound still more
remarkable, they are hung upon the necks of horses and
donkeys. The writing of amulets is one of the most remu-
nerative occupations of the Fakis or scribes, and they are in
far greater requisition in Nubia than in Egypt.
The Fakis of Darfoor are held in the greatest reverence,
and they are credited with the power of securing a certain
rotection from bullets. They are presumed, by means of
spells, to be able to make the lead to dissolve into vapour,
* Bnrckliardt gives copies of two of tliese amulets in his ' Travels,' pp. 210
aud 211.
SILVER BULLETS. 325
and to work enchantments so that the discharge becomes
innocuous. There has hence arisen in the Egyptian Soudan
such an exaggerated notion of the superiority of the weapons
of Darfoor, that none other than white Turkish troops are
considered suitable for a campaign against this stronghold of
Mohammedan fanaticism. The Turks, themselves bigoted
enough, naturally laugh at all their superstition, and an
anecdote related to me by the Governor of Fashoda will
serve to illustrate the extravagance of these delusions of the
Nubians. He told me that Seebehr Bahama, the great
Seriba owner, whose territory joins the southern frontiers of
Darfoor, had boasted to him that he possessed a means of
foiling the black art of the Foorian Fakis; he had had
25,000 dollars melted down into bullets in Khartoom, and as
the amulets of the Fakis did not apply to silver, he declared
these new-fashioned shot to be most effectual. This story, as
I have said, had been received by the Governor from See-
behr's own lips, and as I heard it confirmed in various
quarters, I have no reason to doubt its truth, especially as
Seebehr's wealth and enterprising character were as well-
known to me as his blind superstition. If then the Viceroy
should open a war with Darfoor (and there are few who,
interested in the progress of enlightenment, would not
rejoice to hear of such a movement) he must first, before
venturing to attack this African Bokhara, lay in a store of
the precious metal, in order to make the weapons of his
troops at all effective against their foes. A costly war this
would be in truth.
Throughout the Mohammedan Soudan there is a wide-
spread belief in the unfailing efficacy of water which has
been subject to the charm of imbibing the virtue of leaves of
paper inscribed with texts from the Koran ; to the Nubians,
this infusion is the best of medicine.
According to their notions, all diseases may be divided
into two classes ; those that are caused by " haboob " (wind)^
Vol. II.— 23
326 THE HEART OF AFEICA.
and those that are caused by " damm " (blood). For purify-
ing and cooling the blood their specific remedies are infu-
sions of pepper, cloves, and other spices. Not a day, and
hardly an hour, passed during my residence in the Seribas
without my being a witness to some action prompted by one
or other of their ingrained superstitions. The " evil eye,"
which it is well known is dreaded by all the people on the
Mediterranean, plays a prominent part amongst them. No
one is ever seen to eat alone, or even known to eat in private,
and no food is ever carried across the road without being
carefully covered. The invitation " bes-millah," which is
heard amongst the people as they sit at table, is by no means
uttered because there is a lack of envy and selfishness.
Before the tongue of any animal^ is eaten, the tip has to be
cut off, for here, they say, is the seat of all curses and evil
wishes, and even the tongues of sheep and oxen are not
served up until they have been subject to this treatment.
It is well known that most dogs have a few white hairs
at the extreme tip of the tail ; this tip, they declare, must
be removed, otherwise the animal will not thrive. Altogether
their fancies about dogs are most absurd ; they adhere to the
belief that to inhale their breath would be followed by
grievous consequences, and that the worst internal disorders,
such as consumption and dropsy, would infallibly ensue.
Every Nubian dreads hearing a dog howl, and I was not a
little surprised at finding in this remote land a superstition
that is common in many parts of Europe, and which I
remember having met with in Hungary. The superstition
to which I refer is, that whenever a dog howls (and that is
not seldom, for it will do so on hearing a donkey bray) it
betokens the approaching death of its master.
One of their practices is as disgusting as it is strange.
They suppose it will give them strength to apply the sweat
of their horses to their own bodies. After a ride they scrape
off the sweat from their horse's back with their hand, and rub
MOEE PEE.JTDICES. 327
it about their persons, just in the same way as if they were
using one of their ordinary greasy ointments. All 3Ioham-
medans have peculiar ideas about what is clean and unclean.
A horse is not an unclean animal, and therefore its sweat
cannot be supposed to defile a man. By the same rule,
nothing impure can proceed from a man, because man is not
an unclean animal. This theory of theirs is exemplified
when a group of travellers is seen squatting on the ground
preparing their cooling drinks ; with their dirty hands they
will squeeze the tamarinds into the water, and their draught
is ready ; that a couple of sticks would be in any way a more
wholesome or seemly device appears never to have entered
their thoughts. Li order to express his disgust at anything
dirty or impure, the traveller must either invent some
phraseology of his own, or must signify his disapprobation in
the words : '• Take that away : it is niggis" {i.e. unclean in
a religious sense) : the Arabic terms for dirt being quite
inadequate to convey the right idea.
I should not omit to mention that there are certain pre-
judices about the fabrication of European products that are
shared by all the inhabitants of the Soudan. They believe
that gum-arabic is in such demand in Europe only because
the Franks use it for making their glass-ware, and especially
their beads. Cigars, they say, are rolled up from tobacco
that has been soaked in spii'its to give it pungency ; conse-
quently no true believer can be induced to put one to his
lips. All preserves are supposed to contain pork, or at any
rate to be mixed \shh. pigs' fat ; otherwise, why should they
be introduced into the country ? Cheese, a product that is
utterly unknown amongst the pastoral tribes of Africa, from
the people of Morocco to the Bishareen on the Ked Sea, and
trom the Dinka to the Kafiii's, is imagined to be composed of
pigs' milk, a fact which accounts for the predilection of the
Europeans for it.
I could go on reciting a hundred of the absurd prejudices
328 ' THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and misconceptions of the Nubians, but having given ex-
amples of their failings, I will now say a few words in
commendation and recognition of the better qualities of my
old friends. There are certain peculiarities of their character
that may be described as actual virtues. The Nubian is far
less cringing and servile to his superiors than the Egyptian :
the title *' Seedy " (my lord), which is continually heard in
ordinary conversation amongst the Egyptians, is never heard
from his lips. One day I asked my servants why they
persisted in addressing me by the meagre and pointless
term "Musyoo," when their language provided them with
a courteous word like "Seedy," which is always used in
Egypt. They at once replied that " Seedy " meant lord,
and that they acknowledged no lord but the one All-
powerful Allah.
I have already mentioned the romantic tone of conversa-
tion used by all Nubians, high and low, even on the most
trifling subjects, and how, in this respect, they form a striking
contrast to the Egyptians, who are ever harping on money
and business.
Another very laudable trait in the character of the Nubians
is their moderation in eating ; they eat little, but quickly ;
their meals seem to occupy them but a few moments, and
it is remarkable with what enjoyment they will gulp down
their frugal repast of tough kissere. They are not at all
dainty, and do not seem to covet tit- bits of any descrip-
tion ; they never helped themselves to any of my delicacies,
though amongst the Egyptians and the true negroes, I was
always obliged to keep my sugar-basin in a place of security.
Their outbreaks of intemperance over their abominable
merissa stand out in strong and sad contrast to their other-
wise perfect moderation.
Amongst their physical qualities I may especially remark
their powers of marching ; they are the best walkers that I
know, and seem formed for tramping along the wildernesses
EXCUESION TO EGYPTIAN CAMP. 329
of Africa. Turks and Egyptians are rarely seen ia the Seribas
of the Upper Nile district, and mainly for the reason that in
marching they are unable to keep pace with the Nubians.
Although they are more lively and excitable than the
Turks and Egyptians, the Nubians exhibit a more decided
idleness and dislike to work than either of them ; hence pro-
ceeds that utter want of order and regularity in their house-
holds which is so conspicuous everywhere, and to overcome
which would require more energy than they are ever likely
to display. It is true that they are free from some of the
more revolting vices of the Turks, such for instance as opmm-
eating, but they indulge in the same lascivious excesses, and
have the same hankering after stimulants when their physical
powers flag or fail to answer to those demands of an insatiable
imagination, which have become a second nature in the
degenerate nations of the East.
My condition was somewhat ameliorated, but I was still in
want of many common necessaries. Hitherto I had been
quite unable to find anything that could compensate for the
boots and shoes I had lost. In the hope, therefore, of obtain-
ing some of the things I so much required from amongst the
effects of the deceased Turkish Sandjak, I resolved to make
an excursion to the Egyptian camp. A series of settlements
belonging to various Khartoomers would be passed along the
route, and by stopping at these I might not only break my
journey, but might get an opportunity in addition of gaining
information about that portion of the frontier of the Upper
Nile territory.
The camp of the Government was situated close to the
chief settlement of the most powerful of all the Khartoom
Seriba owners, Seebehr Rahama, who himself resided there.
His territory included the western portion of the district
occupied by the Khartoomers, and was immediately adjacent
to the most southerly outposts of the Sultan of Darfoor. A
few days before I started on this little journey to the west, a
330 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
circumstance had occurred that had thrown all the in-
habitants of this Seriba into a great commotion, and which
did not augur altogether well for my projected tour, A
conflict had broken out between the black Government
troops and Seebehr's Nubian soldiers, and twenty Nubians as
well as many of the negroes had lost their lives in the fray.
The Turkish bazibozuks, instead of remaining neutral, had
joined in the affair and taken part against the blacks. The
reason of this coalition between the Egyptian Turks and the
Nubian settlers was, that the Turkish commander had given
orders that their common enemy, Hellali, should be seized
and imprisoned. This Hellali, it will be remembered, was
the man who had been appointed to the special command of
the black troops of the Government, and who had repre-
sented himself as the owner of the copper-mines in the south
of Darfoor, stating that they had to pay him 4000 dollars
annually. He was really the cause of the present quarrel,
and the events that led to his imprisonment will not take
long to describe.
Hellali had drawn upon himself the odium of all the
Khartoomers, because, by alleging himself to be the owner
of the land in the south of Darfoor, he threw doubt upon
their legal right to the soil on which they had founded their
Seribas; he was consequently summoned to Khartoom to
give an account of his conduct. All the representations by
which he had induced the Viceroy to undertake the expedi-
tion to the Gazelle had turned out to be nothing but the
fraudulent devices of a swindler ; Hellali had never possessed
land in this district at all, and much less had received any
grant of territory from the Sultan of Darfoor. For months
it had been rumoured that he intended to retire with his
black troops to that part of the country, and in spite of his
appeal to the seal and signature of his Highness, by virtue
of which he claimed possession of the lands, the suspicion
against him increased to such an extent that the Turkish
HELLALI. 331
oommander appeared to be justified in proceeding to violent
measures against the alleged favourite of the Viceroy. The
conflict that now arose determined the matter ; Hellali had
been the mainspring of the quarrel with Seebehr's people,
and thus, as I have said, his capture brought about a recon-
ciliation between the Turks and the Xubians.
The immediate cause of the disagreement may now be
related. Hellali had ordered His soldiers to make requisi-
tions of corn upon the natives under Seebehr's jurisdiction,
who had hitherto been accustomed to furnish contributions
to none but their own master. The strange troops were
proceeding by violence to appropriate to themselves the
contents of the granaries, when the Nubian soldiers, with
Seebehr himself at their head, sallied out from the Seriba,
and attempted to drive off the intruders. Hellali's people
immediately opened fire upon the Nubians, and the very first
shot wounded Seebehr in the ankle. This was the signal for
a general battle, and many lives were lost on either side.
For the first few days the Egyptian camp, so near the
Seriba as it was, was in imminent danger, and could with
difBculty hold its own against the ever-increasing numbers
of antagonists, for of course all the neighbours hastened to
the assistance of Seebehr, whose fighting force already
amounted to more than a thousand. In this dilemma the
Turkish commander was obliged to resort to the diplomatic
measure to which I have referred, so as to avert the serious
consequences that threatened himself and his troops.
CHAPTER XXI.
Fresh wanderings, Dyoor remedy for wounds. Crocodiles in the Ghetty.
Former residence of Miss Tinne. Dirt and disorder. The Baggara-
Eizegat. An enraged fanatic. The Pongo. Frontiers of the Bongo
and Golo. A buffalo-calf shot. Idrees Wod Defter's Seriba. Golo dia-
lect. Com magazines of the Golo. The Kooroo. The goats' brook.
Increasing level of land. Seebehr's Seriba Dehm Nduggoo. Discontent
of the Turks. Visit to an invalid. Ibrahim Effendi. Establishment of
the Dehms. Nubians rivals to the slave-dealers. Population of Dar
Ferteet. The Kredy. Overland route to Kordofan. Shekka. Copper
mines of Darfoor. Raw copper.
The third New Year's Day that I passed on African soil now
dawned, and it was precisely on the 1st of January, 1871,,
that I found myself starting off upon my long-projected
tour to the west. I left my little Tikkitikki to the tem-
porary guardianship of Khalil, and set out accompanied by
two of my servants, the negro lads, and the few bearers that
were necessary to carry the little remnant of my property.
My scheme was first of all to pay a visit to Bizelly's
Seriba, thirty-two miles to the north-west, the same that had
been Miss Tinne's headquarters seven years previously ; and
as the controller happened to be passing through Kurshook
All's Seriba on his return from a business tour, I was glad to
avail myself of the chance of travelling in company with one
who was well acquainted with the country. The name of this
man was Bakhit Yussuf ; he was a negro by birth, and had
formerly been in the service of Kleinczniek, a Hungarian,
AN UNCOUKTEOUS VOKEEL. 333
who at the time of Miss Tinne's expedition had owned a
Seriba in the Kozanga mountains, and who by the shameless
way in which he had prosecuted the slave-trade, had fallen
under the censure of the Khartoom authorities.
We crossed the Wow at the same wooded spot as we had
done in April 1869. This river, the Nyenahm of the Dyoor,
the Herey of the Bongo, during the rainy season has a
depth of fourteen to sixteen feet without ever overflowing
its banks ; even at this date the bed of the noble forest-
stream was still quite covered with water, the depth of which
near the banks was three or four feet, decreasing in the
iniddle of the current to less than two feet. The varying
depth, however, did not affect the velocity, which was uniform
throughout and about ninety-eight feet a minute. The width
of the Wow I found by careful measurement to be 132
feet.
Beyond the river we passed through cultivated lands,
leaving Agahd's chief Seriba on our left ; we then crossed a
low range of hills stretchiag towards the north-east, and
brought our day's march to an end in the hamlet of a Dyoor
chief named Dimmoh, where we encamped for the night.
I had purposely avoided entering the Seriba Wow, although
it was quite within reach, my reason being that I had recently
been aggrieved by the behaviour of the acting Vokeel, one
of the few men of Turkish origin who had settled in the land.
A short time previously I had despatched a document of con-
siderable importance to myself, containing a narrative of my
late misfortunes, directing it to the commander of the Egyp-
tian camp, so that through him it might be put on the right
track for Europe, v«a Kordofan; but although the controllers
of all the other Seribas had readily passed on my despatch
from place to place by means of special messengers, this
Turkish Vokeel had sent it back to me with the paltry
excuse that he had received no instructions from myself per-
sonally as to where he should forw urd it. I was thus compelled
334 TIIIC HEART OF AFRICA.
to be the bearer of my own papers as far as the Egyptian
camp in Seebehr's Seriba, whence I hoped to be able to send
them on by one of the slave caravans that made the place
their starting-point.
Our night-camp afforded me an opportunity of renewing
my familiarity with the idyllic village life of the Dyoor. The
sorghum harvest had long been gathered in, and the dokhn
iiad been safely stored in the great urn-like bins that were
so essential a fixture in every hut ; a second crop was now in
course of being housed, consisting of the kindy (Hyjjtis) that
springs up between the stubble, many of the women being
engaged in the task, which is very tedious, of cleansing the
poppy-like seeds. About the fields were lying many of
those strange cylinder-shaped melons, which appear to be
peculiar to the Dyoor, with their rind like that of the bottle-
gourd and as hard as wood. There were also large numbers
of the fleshy variegated calyces of the Sabdariffa dried all
ready for storing, a condition in which they retain their
pungency, and serve the purpose of giving the soups of the
natives an aCid flavour almost as sharp as vinegar.
Several of the old men and women that I saw looked very
decrepit ; a circumstance which I mention, because amongst
the Bongo, slaves to heathen superstition as they are, I never
noticed a single individual whose hair was grey.
I was a witness here of what struck me as a very singular
method of treating wounds. A boy's knee had been grazed,
and I saw a woman apply some of the acrid juice of the
Modecca ahyssinica. Forskal, who discovered the plant in
Arabia, where it goes by the name of *' Aden," says that
pulverized and taken internally it causes a swelling of the
limbs that does not fail to terminate fatally. The Dyoor
woman scraped the rind off a piece of the stem, and having
expressed the juice from the soft pulp spread it upon a
damp leaf; this was laid as a plaster upon the wound and
covered with another leaf. I could not help regretting that
THE HAMLETS OF WOLL. 335
time did not allow me to ascertain the efficiency of the
operation.
The nights were calm and beautifully starlight, so that
our rest in the open air was very enjoyable, and we started
off each morning before sunrise with our energies thoroughly
requickened.
After going awhile uphill over some rocky ground we
came to a declivity of nearly a hundred feet ; at the bottom
of this we had to cross a wide swampy depression covered
with the Terminalia forests that so often characterise such
localities. The holes and hollows, although they were now
completely dry, gave ample testimony as to what must be
the number of the pools that would obstruct the path durmg
the height of the rainy season. In a short time we reached the
hamlets of a Dyoor chief named Woll, that were scattered
about an open plain covered with cultivated fields ; this was
the frontier of Bizelly's territory. A tree something like an
acacia, the Entada sudanica, remarkable for its pods, a foot
long and thin as paper, and breaking into numbers of pieces
when ripe, was the chief feature in the bush-forests of the
environs, although it is a tree which is generally rare in
the country.
The bearers with whom Khalil had supplied me were here
dismissed, their place being taken by others who had come
up at the orders of Bakhit Yussuf. WoU's people were very
busy collecting their iron-ore and putting their smelting-
furnaces into readiness for use. In the vicinity of the village
there was an iron-mine similar to that near Kurshook All's
Seriba.
Over rocky soil and through tracts of dense bushwood we
marched on, until in front of us we saw a kind of valley-
plateau, bare of trees, apparently shut in on the farther side
by an eminence extending towards the north-east, which is
the general direction of the territory of the Dyoor in this
dibtrict. Here we entered a little Seriba of Bizelly's, known
336 THE HEAllT OF AFRICA.
by the name of Kurnuk,* where we were well entertained
during the midday hours,
lu the afteraoon we set ofif again, and mounted the wooded
heiglit covered with great tracts of the GoU tree {Prosopis),
which is noticeable for producing a fruit very like the St.
John's bread. Then again descending, we came to the dried-
up bed of a watercourse that was closely overhung with
bushes. Beyond this were various cultiva,ted plots, dotted
here and there with huts ; and we next entered a splendid
forest of lofty Humboldtiae, which by its extent and dense-
ness reminded me of our own European woods. Our path
was shaded by these noble trees until we reached the Ghetty,
or " Little Wow," six miles above the spot where Dr. Steudner
lies buried on its bank.
This tributary of the Dyoor was about as large as the
Molmul near Aboo Guroon's Seriba ; its bed was between
fifty and sixty feet wide ; its banks were ten feet high. At
present it was little more than a narrow ditch, with no per-
ceptible motion in its waters, but I was told that lower down
it widened out into pools that were ahvays full of water.
But insignificant as the Ghetty looked, it was large enough
to be the resort of crocodiles so daring and voracious that
they were the terror of the neighbourhood, the rapacity of
the creatures very probably arising from a prevalent scarcity
of fish. A few weeks previously, when the stream was full
to the top of its banks, a Dyoor boy as he was swimming
across had been snapped at by one of these ravenous Saurians
and had never been seen again. It is surprising in the dry
season, into what tiny pools and puddles the crocodile will
make its way, and where, buried in the miry clay, it will find
a sufficiently commodious home. In comparison with these
* " Kurnuk " is the term used by the Nubians and Foorians for a shed ; the
corresponding expression in the Soudan Arabic being " Daher-el-Tor," literally,
tlie back of an ox ; thus " kurnuk " means generally any roof with a horizontal
ridge.
PREDECESSORS ON THE SOIL. 337
pools the tanks with which the specimens in the aquariums
of our zoological gardens are provided must be fully if not
superfluously spacious. Wlien kept in confinement the
crocodile makes scarcely any perceptible growth ; and from
this circumstance of the slow increase of its bulk the
inference seems necessarily to follow that the creature lives
to a great age.
The Ghetty is bordered by bushes nearly identical with
those which are found on the banks of all the streamlets of
this land ; the Morelia senegdlensis, the Zizygium, and the
Trichilia retusa may be noted as amongst the most common.
I was told that Bizelly's head Seriba, known amongst the
Bongo as Doggaya Onduppo, was situated upon the right
bank, about eight leagues to the north-west of the spot where
we crossed the stream, which here forms the boundary be-
tween the Wow tribe of the Dyoor and the district populated
by the Bongo. We continued to advance for another league
and a half, going up a densely-wooded acclivity until at
length, fairly tired out with our exertions, we entered, quite
late in the evening, Bizelly's subsidiary Seriba, called by the
Bongo Doggaya-morr.
Here, for the first time, I found myself on what my scien-
tific predecessors had made what to my mind was nothing
less than a classic soil. Here it was that Theodor von
Heuglin had resided from the 17th of April, 1863, to the
4th of January, 1864 ; here, or at least in an adjacent vil-
lage of the Wow tribe, had Dr. Steudner * expired ; and close
n the vicinity had ]\Iiss Tinne passed through a period of
wretchedness which all her wealth was powerless to prevent.
Never could I leave the Seriba without being conscious that
* Dr. Steudner died on the 10th of April, 18G3, from an attack of fever, a
few days after that, in company with Heuglin, he had commenced liis first
journey into the interior ; his object had been to reconnoitre the country to
the west of the Meshera, and to find a suitable plaoe for the accommodation
of Miss Tinne''s party during the rainy season
338 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
every shrub and every plant was a memorial of those who
had been before me, for all were representatives of that
hitherto unknown flora of which Heiiglin had collected the
first botanical data, and w^hich Dr. Kotschy has depicted in
his noble work 'Plantee Tinnianse,' partly from the drawings
of Miss Tinne herself.
Within the Seriba, too, I was constantly reminded of the
miserable condition to which this expedition, so comprehen-
sive in its original design, had been reduced. The region
bore every token of having an unhealthy climate. The
stagnant meadow-waters and foul streams all around had all
the appearance of being veritable and prolific breeding-places
lor fever and malaria. A great ruined tenement, now a mere
lodgment for sheep and goats, marked the spot where the
remains of Miss Tinne's mother, who fell a victim to the
pernicious climate, were temporarily deposited until the
opportunity came for them to be removed to her distant
home. • A dejected fate indeed, and a miserable resting-place
for one who had been reared amidst the comforts and luxu-
ries of the highest refinement.
Before leaving Bizelly's Seriba we received intelligence
of the murder of our old friend Shol, the wealthy Dinka
princess, into the details of whose personal charms and
associations I have, in an earlier page, entered xt'ith some
minuteness. The natives, it seems, had accused her of in-
viting the " Turks " into the country ; and as many of the
tribes in the neighbourhood had been exposed to attacks from
Kurshook All's troops, they determined to avenge themselves
on Shol, as being a long-standing ally of the Khartoomers.
Knowing that she slept alone in her hut, a troop of men
belonging to the Wady (a tribe settled to the east of the
Meshera) set out by night, and under pretext of having
business with Kurdyook, her husband, knocked at her door.
She had no sooner appeared in answer to their summons
than they attacked her with deadly blows ; and setting fire
LOXGO. 339
to all the huts drove off nearly all the cattle that was to be
found in the place. This melancholy piece of news, coupled
with the recent defeat of the Ehartoomers by the Niam-niam,
foreboded ill for the future prospects of the Seribas ; by Shol's
death the vicinity of the Meshera would lose all its peaceful
character, and there was no longer the possibility of solitary
boats being left there in security during the season of the
rains.
A lovely march of about six miles to the north-west,
through an almost unbroken and in many places very dense
bush-forest, brought us to Ali Amoory's* chief Seriba, dis-
tinguished by the natives by the name of Longo. The Parkia
trees were just beginning to bloom. The wonderful spectacle
that these presented was quite unique ; their great trusses of
bright red blossoms, large as the fist and smooth as velvet,
made a display that was truly gorgeous, as they depended
from the long stalks which broke forth from the feathery
foliage of the spreading crowns.
Another characteristic of the scenery was the Boxia salici-
folia, that appeared in great abundance.
In spite of the constant traffic between the different
Seribas there seemed to be no lack of game; traces oi'
hartebeests were everywhere visible, wliilst the little ma-
doqua antelopes bounded like apparitions from bush to bush.
Guinea-fowls were just as prolific as in the wildest deserts
of the Niam-niam. Heuglin, no inexperienced sportsman,
had certainly here chosen a remunerative ground for his
zoological researches.
Our path was crossed by three watercourses, which were
now for the most part dry. By their confluence these three
streams formed an important tributary of the Dyoor, called
the Okuloh, their separate names before their junctiou,
* The real name of the firm is Ali-Aboo-Amoon-. and it has acquired an
undesirable notoriety for its fraudulent dealings with Jliss Tinne's expedition.
840 THE HEAKT OF AFKICA.
reckoning from the southernmost, being respectively the
Dangyah, the Matshoo, and the Minnikinyee or " fish-water ;"
their uniformly north-eastern direction attested the material
fall in the level of the ground at the boundary between the
rocky soil and the alluvial plains of the Dyoor.
Lonsro ranked as a first-class establishment. It contained
a larger number of huts than even Ghattas's Seriba, which
it surpassed also in dirt and disorder. Every hedge was
crooked, every hut stood awry, and the farmsteads were as
ruined as though they had for years been abandoned to the
ravages of rats and white ants. Disgusting heaps of ashes
and scraps of food, piles of rotten straw, hundreds of old
baskets and gourd-shells stood as high as one's head all along
the narrow alleys that parted hut from hut ; whilst outside
the Seriba, just at its very entrances, there were masses of
mouldy rubbish, overgrown with the most noxious of fungus,
that rose as high as the houses; at every step there was
sure to be an accumulation of some abominable filthiness or
other, such as nowhere else, I should think, even in the
Mohammedan world, could be found in immediate proximity
to human habitations ; altogether the place presented such
a dismal scene of dirt, decay, and disorder that it was enough
to induce a fit of nightmare upon every one with the
smallest sense of either neatness or decorum. Truly it was a
wonderful specimen of domestic economy which this horde
of undisciplined Nubians had thus elaborated.
The level country for a mile or more round the Seriba
was occupied by the arable lands belonging to the settle-
ment. Longo was one of the oldest establishments in the
country, and the adjacent soil was no less productive than
that around the Seriba of Ghattas. The Bongo villages
were all situated at some distance to the west.
Amoory's representative agent, Zelim, had formerly been
a soldier, one of the Nizzam, in the Turkish service, and was
a native of the wild district of Baria, in the mountains of
MUTUAL CURIOSITY. 341
Taka ; he was now absent from the Seriba, but had left
orders that I should be hospitably entertained and that
everything which his stores could furnish should be placed
at my disposal. A grove of excellent plantains was close
at hand, from which I obtained a bounteous supply of that
luscious fruit.
All the year round a considerable number of slave traders
resided in the place, and were always attended by those wild
sons of the steppes, the Baggara of the Eizegat, who, with
their lean, fly-bitten cattle, had to camp out as well as they
could in the environs of the Seriba. They had never before
set eyes upon a Christian, and full of eager wonder they
flocked together to survey me, keeping, however, at a dis-
tance of several yards from personal contact, probably dread-
ing the malign influence of the " evil eye " of a Frank.
Their curiosity was still further roused when they saw me
drawing pictures of their cattle, and when I offered them
my various sketches for their own inspection they appeared
to lose much of the alarm which they had exhibited. I
rose from my seat, and held up to them one picture after
another ; the effect was little short of magical ; their uncouth
tones seemed to soften into a murmur of delight, and so
effectually had I succeeded in gaining their confidence that
some of them were induced to sit for their own portraits.
All those that I drew had fine light brown complexions,
slim muscular frames, and perfectly regular features ; the
expression of the face might fairly be pronounced open and
honest, and exhibited the strong resolution that might be
expected of a warlike nation whose occupations, when not in
the battle-field, were in hunting and cattle-breeding. Their
profiles all formed quite a right angle; their noses failed to
be aquiline, but were rounded and well-formed ; the faces of
the younger men were good-tempered looking, having a some-
what effeminate expression, which was still further increased
by the high round forehead. All of them seemed to wear
Vol. II.— 24
342 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
their hair in long slender braids running in rows along the
top of the head and drooping over the neck behind.
As I was pursuing my occupation, and quietly taking mi-
series of portraits, watched intently by a hundred spectators,
who stood around with open mouths which revealed an
astonished admiration, my attention was all at once arrested
by a commotion which was taking place just outside the
circle of the admirers. An old fanatic from Darfoor was
raving away and denouncing loudly what he pleased to call
the iniquity of my proceedings; he professed that my
pursuit was beyond all endurance, and that he was not going
to countenance my presumptuous practices. I shouted to
the old rascal to hold his tongue, to mind his own business,
and be off, and most of the bystanders took up the same
strain, some beginning to taunt and jeer tlie fellow with
such a volley of satirical laughter that, completely dis-
comfited, he was glad to skulk off as quickly as he could.
I could not resist having a word of my own, and just as he
was retiring I shouted after him, for his comfort, the native
proverb, " Trust to the protection of the Almighty as to the
shade of an acacia, but," I added, " they had need be better
acacias than those of your miserable land."
On the 6th of January I resumed my progress. Taking a
south-westerly direction I accomplished a good day's march
of eighteen miles and reached Damury, Amoory's subsidiary
Seriba on the Kiver Pongo. A rocky soil covered with
bush had predominated for the greater portion of the dis-
tance, the route having been perfectly level and unbroken
by the smallest depression. We had crossed the beds of
five brooks which were nearly dry. Taking them in order
they were, the Okilleah, a mere line of stagnant puddles;
the Kulloo,* a larger brook overhung with sizygium-bushes.
* " Kulloo " is in this neighbourhood the generic name for brooks of this
character.
A PLANT OF HAPPY OMEN, 343
and containing water as high as one's knees ; the Horroah, a
dry hollow bed ; the Daboddoo, with a few pools ; and the
Ghendoo, with lioles from which the water had either dried up
or. drained away. All these, when supplied with water, were
tributary to the Pongo, and flowed towards the north-west.
Midday, between the KuUoo and the Horroah, we had
come upon a gigantic fig-tree {Ficus lufea), one of those
memorials of the past that are so often seen in Bongoland,
marking, as they do, the site of an earlier native village.
The name of the place was Ngukkoo. The enormous tree
had a short stem enveloped in a perfect network of aerial
roots, struck downwards from the branches, whilst at the
summit it spread out into a crown of foliage that under the
vertical midday sun formed a shadow on the ground of which
the circumference, as I proved by actual measurement, was
not less than 230 feet.
During the latter portion of the march we had seen a
considerable number of candelabra Euphorbise and Calotropis.
The appearance of the Calotropis (called in Arabic "el
XTsher") was indicative of a more northerly type of
vegetation, as the plant is characteristic of the steppes of
Nubia, Arabia, and the frontiers of India : this was the first
time I had seen it in the territory of the Seribas ; the " el
Usher " had evidently been introduced into this part of the
country by traders from the north, and the solid stems of the
plants, which elsewhere are little more than shrubs, bore
ample witness to the long-established traffic on this com-
mercial highway. The explanation of the extensive diffu-
sion of this plant may be found in the fact that the silky
down that covers the seeds in their large plump pods is
used as a material for stuffing cushions. In the northern
steppes its appearing in sight is. ever hailed by the traveller
as a happy omen, as it enjoys the reputation of always having
either a well or a hidden spring of fresh water in its imme-
diate vicinity.
344 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Damury was situated close to the right-hand bank of the
Pongo, as the Bongo call this affluent of the Bahr-el-Arab.
On earlier maps the river was marked as the Kozanga,
but this I found to be merely the designation of a small
mountainous ridge that extended for several leagues along
the left bank of the river to the south-west of the Seriba.
On the 17th of July, 1863, Theodor von Heuglin* had
visited the spot for the purpose of selecting a dry and rocky
eminence in the woods where a camp might be erected for
the headquarters of Miss Tinne's expedition. If this scheme
had been carried into practice the melancholy sacrifice of
life that resulted from the unwholesome atmosphere of
Bizelly's Seriba might happily have been spared; but
the difficulties of properly organising so large a party of
travellers were insuperable, and the project of removal to
that healthier resort fell to the ground.
The transitoriness which seems to be the characteristic of
all the institutions of this land prevented me from ascer-
taining the exact site of the dwelling-place of the deceased
Bongo chief Kulanda, mentioned by Heuglin in his account
of the visit he made to the place ; but from the comparison
of certain points of correspondence, I entertain no doubt but
that my footsteps were then upon the very spot.
In its upper course through the district inhabited by the
Sehre, the Pongo, as already noted, bears the name of the
Djee ; it flows towards the north-east, and after leaving the
Bongo territory beyond Damury passes through that of the
Dembo, a tribe of Shillook origin related to the Dyoor : on
this account the Khartoomers call it the Bahr-el-Dembo.
The Dembo are under the jurisdiction of Ali Amoory,
whose territories extend far beyond the river to the north-
west, and join the country of the Baggara-el-Homr, his most
remote Seribas being on the Gebbel Marra, in the locality of
* This was the most westerly point that Heuglin reached in Central Africa.
THE EIVER PONG 0 345
a negro tribe called the Bambirry, probably also a branch
of the great Shillook family ; but it should be stated that,
according to some accounts, these Bambirry are true Zandey
Niam-niam who have immigrated from the south and settled
in their present quarters.
The scenery about Damury was extremely like that around
A woory in the Mittoo country ; in fact it altogether reminded
me of what I had seen on my trip to the Bohl, especially as
the Pongo exhibits not a few points of resemblance to that
river. Damury is built on rising rocky ground, thickly
covered with wood, and close to the eastern or Tight-hand
bank of the river. The slopes that enclosed the river-bed
were about fifteen feet in depth, and between them and the
actual stream there was, on either side, a strip of soil subject
to inundation during the rainy season and now broken up
with numerous pools and backwaters. At this date (January
7, 1871) the water was moving sluggishly along between
clay banks, some 10 feet down and 70 feet apart ; but the
water did not cover a breadth of more than fifty feet and was
nowhere more than four feet in depth. Its velocity was the
same as that of the Wow ; but whilst both the Wow and the
Dyoor rolled along, even at this season, in considerable
volume, the Pongo was comparatively empty, and, as I saw,
it must have offered a very striking contrast to its appearance
during the Khareef, when no doubt it could make good its
pretensions to be a river of the second class. On the other
side of the Pongo there was a low tract of steppe, at least
3000 paces wide, which, of course, represented the territory
subject to inundation on the left bank. I subsequently
found that the entire length of the river, from its source to
Damury, could not at the most exceed 200 miles, and thus
became able more completely to realise the very remarkable
periodic changes which occur in the condition of the stream.
In various parts of the depression the vegetation of the
open steppe is replaced by close masses of stephogyne: these
346 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
form marshy clumps, and from their general habit very
strongly resemble our alder-beds of the north.
Close to the Seriba a deep chasm, called Gumango, opens
out into the valley of the river ; it is one of the landslips, so
common in this region, caused by springs washing away the
ferruginous swamp-ore from below, and an inexperienced
traveller might easily be led to mistake it for the bed of a
periodical watercourse of considerable magnitude. It is
thickly overgrown Avith brambles and creepers. The shrub
Tinnea plays a prominent part in the underwoods all around
Damury, arnd many of the plants that are found growing on
the dry sand of the bed of the Pongo may be considered as
true representatives of the flora of the black Nile-earth, and
prove the hydrographical importance of the stream.
Just above the Seriba the course of the river was due east
for a distance of four miles, and in pursuing our westward
journey we marched along the left bank in the direction
contrary to the stream until we arrived at the spot where it
made its bend away from the south. Here we crossed. The
sandy bed was not more than 100 feet wide, a grassy de-
pression beyond was about 400 paces across. On the borders
of this we came upon some ruined huts projecting above the
grass, evidently the remains of a forsaken Seriba of Bizelly's,
which had likewise been called Damury, after the name
of the Bongo community that had had their homes in the
district. The Bongo had now withdrawn beyond the right
bank of the river, and thus the Pongo had been left as the
boundary between the populated country and the actual
wilderness.* With very slight deviations the remainder of
our journey to Seebehr's great Seriba was in a direction due
west. The ground rose considerably, and on our left was a
tall eminence of gneiss, called Ida, a northern spur of the
* In the dialect of the Soudan these distinctions are respectively rendered
by tlie terras " Dar " (cultivated land) and " Akabah " (wilderness).
THE KAERA. 347
Kozauga ridge and (with regard to our present position)
about 500 feet high. A deep brook, the Ooruporr, rising
somewhere on the slopes of this Mount Ida, here crossed our
path, the line of its banks being distinctly marked out by
some specimens of the wild date-palm. A little farther on
we came to a dry, deep chasm, that formed the bed of a
periodic stream known as the Andimoh, which likewise
descended from the hill of Ida ; its banks were marked by
crags of gneiss and studded with bamboos.
We passed onwards over masses of gneiss almost spherical
in form, overgrown with moss-like clusters of selaginella, and
reached the bed of the brook Karra, lying in its deep hollow.
To this little stream the Nubians gave the name of Khor-el-
Ganna, on account of the jungles of bamboo that enclose its
rocky banks, which descend in successive steps so as to
produce a series of cascades. The Bongo reckon the Karra
as the boundary between their country and the country of
the Golo ; it is also considered to be the line which separates
the domain of the landowner Ali Amoory from that of
Idrees Wod Defter, whose Seriba is about thirty-five miles
from Damury and, as nearly as possible, half way along our
route thence to Seebehr's chief settlement.
Beyond the Karra the path led over very undulated
country ; and we had twice to cross a brook called Ya, which,
formed mainly of a series of deep basins, worked its devious
way along a contracted defile. Having at length mounted a
steepish eminence of red rock we appeared to bring our long-
ascent to an end, and commencing a gradual descent we
proceeded till we reached the brook Attidoh, beside which
we encamped for the night.
Large herds of buffaloes thronged the chief pools of the
swampy bed, and before it became quite dark I managed to
creep within range of a group of cows with their calves.
The only result of my exertions was that one calf fell dead
upon the spot where it was struck, all my other shots
348 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
apparently taking no effect. Half the night was spent in
roasting, broiling, and drying the flesh of the young buffalo,
and all my party were in great good humour.
The forests for long distances were composed exclusively
of lofty Humboldtiae, and increased in magnitude and
denseness as we advanced farther amongst them ; they were
so fine that they might well bear comparison with any of the
best wooded districts of the Niam-niam. We crossed a half-
dry khor (or stream-channel) called the Ngoory, and shortly
afterwards a marshy brook, with a considerable supply of
water, called the Akumunah ; both of these joined the
Mongono, of which the bed at the place where we crossed
it was so dry that it appeared only like a tract of sand,
seventy feet wide ; but by turning up the loose sand to the
depth of six inches, a copious stream of clear water was
discovered to be running on its subterranean way over a
gravelly bottom. In the rainy season the Mongono as-
sumes quite a river-like appearance, for I discovered traces
of important backwaters that had been left by its inundation,
and the banks that bounded its sandy bed were not much
less than eight feet high.
A little rose-coloured gentian, the Causcora, characterises
the slopes of the banks of this streamlet, growing just in the
same luxuriant manner as the kindred species that adorn the
sides of our own brooks. The frequent appearance of the
Abyssinian Protea convinced me that the elevation of the
ground was greater than what we had left behind us: as
matter of fact we were at an average height of 2500 feet
above the level of the sea.
The Yow-Yow, a narrow sort of trench, made up of a series of
deep pools, next intersected our path. On the other side of
this I mounted a crag of gneiss, whence I obtained an exten-
sive view towards the west, and observed an elevated line of
woods stretched out with the precision of a wall from S.S.W.
to N.N.E. The elevation was beyond the Athena, a brook
IDEEES WOD DEFTER. 349
that we reached after first crossing two other but minor
streams. The bed of the Athena was formed of sand and
gravel ; although it was dry, with the exception of some
occasional water-pools that had not failed, it was fifty feet in
width. The steepness of the banks demonstrated that in the
rainy season they enclosed what would be allowed to be a
considerable river. Two* more brooks with deep beds had
still to be crossed, and then we entered upon the cultivated
land adjacent to Idrees Wod Defter's Seriba. Two miles
more, along a continuous ascent, brought us to the Seriba
itself.
Idrees Wod Defter was a partner in Agahd's firm. His
Seriba had been built about three years previously, and was
composed of large farmsteads, shut in almost with the'
seclusion of monasteries by tall hedges of straw-work ; they
were occupied by the various great slave-traders who had
settled in the country. Four huts and a large rokooba had
recently been erected for the accommodation of the
numerous travellers who passed through, chiefly composed of
second-class traders, who, like itinerant Jews, wandered about
trom place to place, hawking their goods. Idrees himself
resided in his Niam-niam Seribas, which, .1 was told, were
near Mofio's residence, seven or eight days' journey distant.
Besides this chief settlement there were two subsidiary
Seribas, one about four leagues to the south-east, on the
western declivity of the Kozanga hills, and another at the
same distance to the south-west, the controller of which was
named Abd-el-Seed. The farmsteads of the chief Seriba
stood in their separate enclosures, and were not surrounded
by the ordinary palisade. Close by, on the south, a little
spring trickling forth from a cleft in the ground suddenly
expanded into a clear rippling brook that ran merrily to tlie
west.
The natives that served the necessary demands of the
Seriba belonged to the tribe of the Golo. In manners and
360 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
in general appearance they very much resemble their
eastern neighbours the Bongo, although the dialects of the
two tribes have very little in common. More than any
other negro tongue with which I gained much familiarity,
the Golo dialect seems to abound in sounds resembling the
Golo 'Woman.
German vowels o and u, and, like some of the South African
dialects, it contains some peculiar nasal tones, which may be
described as sharp and snapping, and which are quite
unknown to the neighbouring nations. Another peculiarity
consists in the frequent occurrence of certain lingual sounds,
which in a measure may be represented by ds and ts.
Escorted by the controller of the Seriba I made an in-
spection of all the neighbouring hamlets, and observed that
the style of the Golo architecture was far more like that of
the Miam-niam than that of the Bongo. The rooffe of the
huts projected far beyond the clay-walls, and were supported
MEETING AN OLD FRIEND. 351
on light posts which formed a colonnade, the walls them-
selves being whitewashed with hyasna-dung.
The flora of the bush is distinguished by large numbers
of Eu^Jwrbia venenifica, which is only sporadically repre-
sented in this district, and a tree of a type which is rare
in the southern parts of Darfoor and Kordofan and in the
Western and Central Soudan, the Eriodendron anfractuosum,
being in fact the " cotton tree " of the colonist, was planted
near the Seribas for its ornamental qualities. It is called
" ruhm " by the Fooriaus, and is chiefly remarkable for the
verticillate arrangement of its branches, separating the crown
of the tree into divisions distinct from each other, like an
araucaria — a peculiarity that results in its being resorted to
by the poor heathen negroes of Baghirmy, when they are on
the look-out fur a place of refuge from the bauds of slave-
hunters: large conical prickles of an immense thickness
cover the stem, almost like the clusters of barnacles on a log
of wood that has been exposed to the influence of the sea.
Just as I was on the point of leaving the Seriba of Idrees
Wod Defter, my old friend Mohammed Aboo Sammat
arrived. He came in the train of a large party of Bongo
who were conveying corn to the place, and as, like myself,
he was on his way to the Egyptian camp, we joined company
and started without further delay to the west.
Half a league beyond the Seriba we left the cultivated
land and re-entered the forest wilderness near the village of
the Golo chief Kaza. Far and wide the fields were sown
with sweet potatoes, and dokhn corn was extensively culti-
vated. In the village of Kaza we noticed several of the
peculiar corn-magazines upon the construction of which the
Golo spend so much care. They are at once bold and
graceful in design. Tlie actual receptacle for the corn is
made of clay and is in the form of a goblet ; it is covered
with a conical roof of straw, which serves as a movable lid ; to
protect it from the ravages of rats it is mounted on a short
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Com-magaziiie of the Golo.
substantial pedestal, that is supported at the base by stakes
arranged as a series of flying buttresses. Altogether the
structure is very symmetrical ;
and the clay is worked into
tasteful graduated mouldings
that add considerably to the
general finish of the whole.
The dwelling huts of the Golo
also display peculiarities in
their style of building, and
bear evident marks of being
erected with unusual care and
labour.
The Seriba we had just
quitted was situated on the
watershed between the Kooroo
and the Pongo. We crossed
the last stream in the Pongo
system just beyond Kaza's hamlets ; it was called the
Abbuloh, and was now thirty-five feet wide and two feet
deep. Farther on the path gradually rose through a shady
wood until we reached an eminence strewn over with blocks
of gneiss; then descending, still through woods, we came
to a copious brook of about the same dimension as the
Abbuloh. This was the Bombatta, which flowed in a north-
western direction and joined the Kooroo. The next brook,
the Abeela, moved in the samie direction, and was composed
of a connected series of deep basins. Two more rivulets
of the same character followed, the second of which, named
the Ngoddoo, flowed past a flat bare elevation of gneiss and
joined the Kooroo only a short distance to the west. Amongst
the autumn flora of this region the Hydralia was very con-
spicuous, its brilliant sky-blue blossoms blending with the
grass so as to form a charming carpet over the depressions
of the brooks.
THE BAHE-EL-KOOROO. 353
An hour after crossing the Ngoddoo we arrived at the
bank of the Bahr-el-Kooroo, as this important affluent of
the Bahr-el-Arab is called by the Mobamniedan settlers ; the
name is probably borrowed from the Baggara Arabs, as amongst
the Golo (whose territory it divides from that of the Kredy
on the west) it is sometimes called the Mony, and sometimes
the Worry ; by the Sehre it is called the Wee. At the
place of our transit it was flowing towards the N.N.W., and
the current was rather rapid. The entire breadth of the
bed was between ninety and a hundred feet, but of this only
sixty feet w-as covered with water, the depth of which nowhere
exceeded two feet. At one spot the river flowed over blocks
and layers of gneiss that were overgrown with mossy Tris-
tichae. The banks stood fifteen feet high, and although there
were woods on either side that grew right down to the water,
many indications remained of their being subject to a periodi-
cal inundation : a canoe left high up on the dry ground was
an evidence how full of water the river must be during the
rainy season.
We kept continually meeting small companies of slave
traders, • mounted on oxen or on donkeys and having their
living merchandise in their train.
The long tracts of one species of forest-tree reminded me
very much of the masses of the alder-like Vatica on the
Tondy. Beyond the west bank of the river the path led up
the steep side of a valley, and the level of the soil rapidly
increased. Then we came to a series of ruts like deep
ditches, some quite dry and some still filled with running
water. We counted six of these before reaching the Beesh,
or Khor-el-Rennem, which is an affluent of the Beery and
the largest of the three tributaries of the Bahr-el-Arab, which
I had the opportunity of seeing.
The Khor-el-Rennem, or goats' brook, received its name
from the circumstance that once, during the period of the
annual rains, a whole herd of goats had made an attempt to
364 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
cross the stream and had all been drowned in the rushing
flood. It was shut in by trees and bushes of many kinds,
and these cast a gloomy shade over the chasm which was
worn by the waters ; it was now only a foot deep and fifteen
feet wide.
Here, again, the land on the western shore rose suddenly
like a wall, a peculiarity in the topography of the country
that testified to the continual increase of its level above the
sea.
Two easy leagues forward, generally over cultivated coun-
try and past several hamlets belonging to the Kredy tribe,
the Nduggo, and I reached what I designed should be my
resting-place for awhile at Seebehr's Seriba, which was also
the Egyptian camp. The distance of seventy miles from the
Pongo had been accomplished in four days. By this time I
had become quite accustomed to the habit of counting my
steps. I had become my own " perambulator," and could
not help thinking, as I marched along, of Xenophon and his
parasangs in the expedition of the Greeks. One day of our
ordinary marching would accomplish about four or five
parasangs.
Seebehr's Seriba was 2282 feet above the level of the sea,
464 feet higher than Bizelly's Seriba on the Ghetty, and 737
feet higher than Ghattas's chief settlement. There was but
little observable change in the character of the vegetation ;
few new plants appeared, and almost the only difference was
that the forests had apparently become more dense. But how-
ever little the gradual elevation of the land might affect the
vegetation, yet the hydrographical condition of the country
very plainly attested a complete alteration in the nature of
the soil. Although our present latitude was 8° N., the
general aspect that came under the observation of a traveller
was almost identical with what he would see between latitude
6 and latitude 5° in passing southwards from Bongoland to
the Niam-niam.
SEEBEHK'S SEEIBA. 355
Immediately after crossing the Pongo we quitted the soft
absorbent soil, and entered upon a region so prolific in springs
that, all the year round, every rivulet, brook, and trench,
and even the smallest fissure in the earth, is full of water, and
that of the brightest and purest quality. Between the Pongo
and Seebehr's Seriba we had crossed no less than twenty
brooks and two rivers of considerable magnitude. Just as
had been the case in the Niam-niam lands, water trickled
from every crevice and found an outlet on every slope, whilst
in the low-lying country of the Dyoor and Bongo, on the
edge of the red swamp-ore, where chasms and watercourses
are quite as abundant, no springs ever break forth during
the winter months, and the half-dry beds are supplied by
no other water than what has been left from the previous
Khareef.
This circumstance seems in a certain degree to illustrate
the conformation of the south-western side of the Bahr-el-
Ghazal basin ; for the general direction of all the streams
that contribute to its volume would be at right angles to the
lines of the teri'aces that rise one above the other at various
levels above the sea.
The Seriba was enclosed by a palisade 200 feet square ;
hundreds of farmsteads and groups of huts were scattered
round, extending far away along the eastern slope of a deep
depression which was traversed in the direction of the north-
west by a brook that was fed by numerous springs. The
whole place, in all its leading features, had the aspect of a
town in the Soudan, and vividly reminded me of Matamma,
the great market town in Gallabat, where all the inland trade
with Abyssinia is transacted. To establishments of this
magnitude the natives give the name of " Dehm," * which is,
in fact, an equivalent for " a town." The heights to the east
* The Khartoomers have given the word Uehm an Arabic plural, " Dwehm ;"
and by this tei m they distinguish the great .-lave marts oi the west.
356 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
of the place were more important than tliose immediately
bordering on the depression, and in the N.N.E. very high
ground was visible in the distance. Towards the west the
country sloped downwards for a couple of leagues to the
river Beery, which, it has been mentioned, is an important
tributary of the Bahr-el-Arab.
The Egyptian troops were encamped at the southern
extremity of the settlement, and were under the command
of the Vokeel-el-urda, Ahmed Aga, who had been the lieu-
tenant of the late Sandjak. The black swindler, Hellali, was
still kept in confinement, his company of soldiers being
treated as prisoners of war and placed under the surveillance
of the other troops in a section of the camp allotted to the
purpose. Great scarcity of provisions prevailed, for, in addi-
tion to the troops, the population had been augmented by
the arrival of many huiidreds of slave-dealers from Kordofan.
Immediately on receiving information of the schemes that
were being plotted against his copper-mines by the Egyptian
Government, Hussein, the Sultan of Darfoor, had prohibited
all intercourse between his own frontiers and the Seribas
of the Khartoomers ; consequently the traders from Aboo
Harras, in Kordofan, found themselves obliged to take a
longer and more dangerous route across the steppes of the
predatory Baggara ; but, in spite of every difficultyj, the pre-
sence of the Government troops offered such an attraction
that the number of the traders was just doubled. They were
enticed by the hope of carrying on a lucrative business with
the avaricious Turkish soldiers, whose influential position
gave them opportunities that were specially advantageous
for making high profits ; but besides this, the attempt, how-
ever abortive, of the Government authorities in Khartoom to
suppress the slave-trade along the Nile had had the efiect
of driving up the traffic in the upper countries to such a .
premium that the dealers were spurred on to fresh energy.
Since the last rainy season upwards of 2000 small slave-
EGYPTIAN TROOPS. 357
dealers bad arrived at the Seriba, and others were still
expected.* All these people, like the troops, lived upon
Seebehr's corn-stores, and thus provisions became so scarce
that they could hardly be purchased for their own weight in
copper, which, with the exception of slaves, was the solitary
medium o-f exchange.
It might not unnaturally have been expected that the
Egyptian troops would have taken up their position in the
richest and most proliiic of the corn-lands ; but instead of
this they had quartered themselves on the extreme limit
of the Seribas in the Bahr-el-Ghazal district. The avowed
reason for this was that tliey might be better able to over-
look the approaches to the copper-mines of Darfoor, but the
real motive was in order that they might be nearer the
fountain-head of the slave-trade and in direct communica-
tion with the northern territories, from which the main supply
of living merchandise was obtained. I have already drawn
attention to the impossibility of raising the contributions of
corn required by the Egyptian commander, and I now
became a personal witness of the unreasonableness of his
demands ; he appeared to have no other object than to
exhaust the land already impoverished by the slave-trade,
and in true Turkish fashion he set to work to involve all
that remained in utter ruin.
In point of fact, however, it must be owned that it was a
matter of considerable difiSculty (after the bloody conflict
that had resulted from Hellali's compulsory levies) for
Ahmed Aga to raise the necessary supplies for the coming
Khareef; but he made his requisitions in the most unfair
way ; his partiality was extreme, for while he exempted
some Seribas from any contribution at all, he imposed upon
others a demand for a double supply. My friend Mohammed
was one of the oppressed. He had been called upon to
* The entire number that year rose to 2700.
Vol. XL— 25
358 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
furnish fifty ardebs of corn, a quantity corresponding to the
burdens of 150 to 170 bearers, and not only was his Seriba at
Sabby at a distance of seventeen days' journey from this spot,
but his corn-magazines were still another four days' journey
farther on, so that the mere maintenance of the bearers for
tliree weeks would take thirty ardebs more. Mohammed, in
truth, had not sufficient corn of his own to meet the demand
of the Divan, and would be reduced to the necessity, in order
to make up what was deficient, of purchasing at famine prices
from other Seribas which already were well-nigh exhausted.
I took upon myself to intercede with the Aga, but to no
purpose ; he was utterly inflexible, and, not content with
insisting upon his original demand, inflicted a heavy fine for
the delay in the payment of the tribute, by exacting a con-
tribution of 100 ardebs instead of fifty. But what irritated
me more than anything else was the barefaced iniquity
with which he backed up Shereefee in his refusal to make
any compensation to Mohammed for the outrage, no better
than a liighway robbery, which he had perpetrated upon him,
whilst at the same time he pretended to upbraid Mohammed
for what he called his implacability. The solution of the
matter was very easy. Shereefee had bribed Ahmed Aga
with a lavish present of slaves, and that was a gift as
acceptable as cash, just because they were a recognised
medium of currency.
Notwithstanding the crowd of human beings thus aggre-
gated together, the bill of health, as far as it w^as influenced
by the climate, was perfectly satisfactory.. There were, of
course, occasional cases of hereditary or. insidious disease;
but even amongst the slaves, closely packed as they were,
the mortality was inconsiderable, and the human bones that
lay scattered about were comparatively fewer than what I
had grown accustomed to notice in other places. The efiemi-
nate Turkish soldiers, however, grumbled excessively at their
])Osition ; they besieged me with petitions that I would not
TURKS IN CENTRAL AFRICA. 359
only represent their misery to the Governor-General in
the strongest terms, but that I would do my utmost to
convince the authorities that neither profit nor glory could
be gained from an enterprise which was exposing their lives
to so much peril. " Do this," they said, " and you will be
doing us one of the greatest favours that it is in the power
of mortal man to confer, and the blessing of Allah he with
you ! "
Certain it is that these Turks, fit for nothing better than
to lounge about on* a divan, were the most unsuitable beings
imaginable ever to have been sent on an expedition into the
wilds of Central Africa. A year of their ordeal had scarcely
passed, and already their complaints were piteous enough to
melt a heart of stone ; they seemed helpless as babes, and I
verily believe that had it not been for the Nubians they
would have been cheated and trampled on and reduced to
the direst necessities in this land of solitude and starvation.
They were all indifferent walkers ; they could not endure
the food of the country ; they sorely missed their "schnaps ;"
they were aggrieved at the loss of their wheat-flour and their
rice, and did not understand going without their habitual
luxuries. It was indeed a kind of set-off against all this
that they could be as indolent as they pleased. There was
nothing to do, and nothing they did ; they did not plant out
a siijgle plot of maize, they did not lay out a kitchen-garden
of the simplest kind ; but, loitering about from morning till
night, they kept up their unfailing growls of discontent,
dealing out their invectives against the " wretched " land
and its " wretched " people. No wonder they complained of
ennui. Divest a Turk of his fine clothes, his formal etiquette,
his measured speech, and his little bit of honour which may
be described as " I'exterieur de la vertu et I'elegance des
vices," and little remains to elevate him above a Nubian of
the worst class ; nevertheless, the mutual antipathy that ex-
isted between the Turks and the Nubians was very marked.
360 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and verified the proverb that " Arabs' blood aud Turks blood
will never boil together."
The remarkably large contingent of Gellahbas that
chanced to be within the place gave the dirty crowds of men,
such as are more or less to be invariably found in every
Seriba, a more motley aspect than usual, and altogether the
Dehm oiTered a deplorable contrast to the freshness of the
wilderness that we had so long and so recently been travers-
ing. The hawkers of living human flesh and blood, un-
washed and ragged, squatted in the op&n places keeping
their eye upon their plunder, eager as vultures in the desert
around the carcase of a camel. Their harsh voices as they
shouted out their blasphemous prayers ; the drunken iodo-
lence and torpor of the loafing Turks; the idle, vicious
crowds of men infested with loathsome scabs and syphilitic
sores; the reeking filthy exhalations that rose from every
quarter — all combined to make the place supremely disgust-
ing. Turn where I would, it was ever the same ; there was
the recurrence of sights, sounds, and smells so revolting
that they could not do otherwise than fill the senses with
the most sickening abhorrence.
Such were my impressions as I made my entry into the
Dehm Nduggo, as the settlement is called from the Kredy
tribe with Avhich the neighbourhood is populated. The first
consideration I had to make for myself was whether I would
become the guest of the Turks or of the Nubians ; I had to
choose whether I would sue for hospitaUty at the hands of
Seebehr or of the Turkish Aga. After due deliberation I
made up my mind to apply to Seebehr, for as the Turks had
taken the smaller share in the affair with Hellali, I concluded
that they constituted the less powerful element, and, in
truth, they were themselves dependent upon Seebehr's
liberality. But what perhaps influenced me still more was
that my firman from the Government had been lost in the
lire, and that consequently I was lacking in credentials lo
SEEBEHR'S COURT. 361
make any formal and authoritative demands ; and 1 did not
wish to be at the mercy of the commander. As it was,
Ahmed Aga did not even fulfil the stipulations that had
been made in my favour by the Government in Khartoom,
and all that I could get out of him was a supply of good
writing-paper to enable me to go on with my sketching.
Amongst the effects of Kurshook Ali, on which I had set
my hopes, I could discover nothing that would be of the
least service to me; his successor had long since, in true
Ottoman fashion, disposed of everything that could be turned
to account, a proceeding that subsequently involved him in
a lawsuit with the son of the deceased Sandjak.
Meanwhile I was most kindly received by Seebehr, and
as long as I remained in the Seriba I had not the faintest
cause of complaint. He was himself in a debilitated state
of health ; the wound that he had received in the late fray
had proved very dangerous, the bullet having completely
penetrated the ankle-bone. The only means employed for
healing the wound was repeated syringing with pure olive-
oil, a remedy which, though slow, had been efficacious ; for
when I saw him, after some weeks had elapsed since the
casualty, the injury was all but cured.
Seebehr * had surrounded himself with a court that was
little less than princely in its details. A group of large
well-built square huts, enclosed by tall hedges, composed the
private residence; within these were various state apart-
ments, before which armed sentries kept guard by day and
night. Special rooms, provided with carpeted divans, were
reserved as ante-chambers, and into these all visitors were
conducted by richly-dressed slaves, who served them with
coffee, sherbet, and tchibouks. The regal aspect of these
halls of state was increased by the introduction of some lions,
secured, as may be supposed, by sufficiently strong and
* Seebehr's name at full length was Seebehr-Eahaina-Gyimme-AbeL
362 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
massive chains. Behind a large curtain in the innermost
hut was placed the invalid couch of Seebehr. Attendants
were close at hand to attend to his wants, and a company
of Fakis sat on the divan outside the curtain and murmured
their never-ending prayers. In spite of his weakness and his
suflfering he was ever receiving a stream of visitors, who had
something to say to "the Sheikh," as he was commonly
called. I often paid him a visit, and, to my surprise at first,
was accommodated with a chair by the side of his bed. He
repeatedly bewailed the helplessness of his condition, saying
how vexed he was at being unable personally to provide for
my requirements, adding that if he had been well, he should
have had the greatest pleasure in escorting me over his
lands. It was a great relief to my mind that he did not
apply to me for surgical advice. I. was glad to encourage
him by my approbation of the remedy he was using, which, if
it possessed no particular virtue, had at least the recom-
mendation of being perfectly harmless.
A draft that I made on my account at Khartoom was duly
honoured, and I obtained a hundredweight of copper from
Seebehr's stores; this I employed without delay as cash,
and purchased soap, coffee, and a variety of small articles
from the hawking liangers-on of the slave-traders, as well as
a large supply of cartridge-paper for the preservation of my
botanical specimens.
The greatest service, however, that Seebehr afforded me
was in providing me with boots and shoes of European make ;
no acquisition was to be appreciated higher than this ; and in
finding myself fresh and well-shod I felt myseK renovated to
start again upon my wanderings with redoubled vigour. None
but those who have been in my condition can comprehend
the pleasure with which I hailed the sight of the most trivial
and ordinary articles. Once again I was in possession of a
comb, some pipe-bowls, and lucifers. As I was not in the
least inclined to forego my smoking while on the march, I
IBRAHIM EFFENDI. 363
had been obliged, in order to get a light for my tobacco, to
make one of my people carry a blazing firebrand throughout
the recent journey.
No sooner was I installed in the huts allotted to me than
I received a succession of visitors ; some of them crossed my
threshold from mere idle curiosity, whilst others came either
with some vague hope of profit or from some innate love of
intrigue. I was honoured by a call from the great Zelim,
Ali Aboo Amoory's chief controller, who came to express his
hope that I had been satisfied with my reception in his
Seriba, which I had visited during his absence. Then I
made the acquaintance of some of the more important slave-
traders, who had long been settled in the place and who
came burning with curiosity to know the real object of my
journey. But the most remarkable of all my visitors was a
certain Ibrahim Effendi, who held the office of head clerk
and accountant in the Egyptian camp. His life had been one
unbroken series of criminal proceedings, and he had been
guilty of frauds and swindling transactions to an extent that
was absolutely incredible. Originally a subordinate in one of
the departments of the Egyptian Ministry he had, during
Said Pasha's Government, forged the Viceregal seal and
attached it to a document professing to appoint him to the
command of a regiment that was to be formed in Upper
Egypt, and to prescribe that the local government there
should defray all the expenses of levying and equipping the
troops. This document he had the audacity to present first
with his own hands to the governor of the province, and
then forthwith he proceeded to present himself in the Upper
Egyptian town as the colonel of the new regiment. Only
those who are acquainted with the disorder and despotism
that prevailed in every branch of the Administration during
the lifetime of that Viceroy could believe that such a
deception would be practicable; but I am in a position
positively to assert that the fraudulent artifice did really fur
364 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
a while succeed. Two months afterwards, the troops having
meanwhile been embodied, the Viceroy happened to make
an excursion up the Nile, and seeing a great many soldiers
on its banks, inquired the number of their regiment and
why they were there. His astonishment was unbounded
when he was told of a regiment of whose existence he had
never previously heard. Ibrahim was summoned at once.
Throwing himself at the Viceroy's feet, the culprit colonel
confessed, his guilt and begged for mercy. The good-natured
Said, who never suffered himself to lose his temper, far less
to go into a rage, merely sentenced him to a few years
banishment and imprisonment in Khartoom. As soon as
Effendi had completed his term of punishment and re-
gained his liberty, he started alresh as clerk to some of
the Soudan authorities ; but his habits of fraud and em-
bezzlement were as strong as ever, and he was caught in
the act of decamping with the cash-box, and was this time
banished to Fashoda, on the White Nile, as being the safest
place for dangerous characters of his stamp. After he had
been here for several years our friend managed to excite
the compassion of Kurshook Ali, who was passing through
the place, and was induced to give him his present post
of head clerk to his division of the Government troops.
This appointment brought Effendi to the district of the
Gazelle.
Well versed as he was in the ways of the world, Effendi,
by his wit and versatility, seemed to have the power of
winning every heart. His position here in the Egyptian
camp offered only too wide a scope for his love of intrigue.
He had played an important part in the affair with Hellali,
having doubtless been at the bottom of the stroke of policy
that had reconciled Seebehr to the Turkish soldiers by
bringing the hated Hellali to chains and to the yoke of the
sheba. Probably he was again bidding for the command of
some troops, and I am bound to confess that he seemed in i\
DAR FERTEET. 365
fair way of being able before long to gratify his old predi-
lection for military organisation.
The uninhabited wilderness stretching to the west of the
Pongo, a district long known to the inhabitants of Darfoor
and Kordofan under the name of Dar Ferteet,* represents
one of the oldest domains of the slave-trade, and at the
present day, as far as regards its aboriginal population,
presents to the eye of a traveller the aspect of what may be
described as " a sold-out land." Only within the last fifteen
years have the Khartoom trading-companies penetrated into
the district watered by the Gazelle, but long before that
numbers of slave-dealers had already formed settlements
in Dar Ferteet, then as now streaming into the pountry
from Darfoor and Kordofan accompanied by hundreds of
armed men, and coming, year after year, in the winter
months so as to accomplish their business and get back to
their homes before the rainy season again set in. Some of
them, however, did not return, but remained permanently in
the land, and, under the sanction of the more influential
chieftains, founded large establishments (Dehms) to serve as
marts or depots for their black merchandise. As soon as the
ivory-traders, with their enormous armed bands, made their
appearance in the country, the Gellahbas received them
with open arms ; and the Nubians, in order to provide for
the storing of their ivory and ammunition, forthwith com-
bined their Seribas with the Dehms already established, so
that in the course of time these places assumed the appear-
ance of the market towns of the Soudan. The Gellahbas by
remaining in their old. quarters reaped a twofold advantage :
in the first place, the larg^ contingents of armed men that
* Ferteet is the term by which the Foorians and Baggara distinguish th^
Kredy tribes as a nation from the Niam-niam. In a wider Sense the term is
applied to all the heathen nations to the south of Darfoor. In the Soudan the
guinea-worm is also called Ferteet, probably because the heathen negroes act
cspeciiiUy liable to its attacks.
366 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
were now introduced into the country relieved them from
the necessity of maintaining troops of their own; and,
secondly, they were exonerated from the heavy imposts that
thev had been compelled to pay to the native Kredy chief-
tains, as these w ere very speedily reduced by the Nubians to
the subordinate position of mere sheikhs or local overseers of
the natives. In the course of my tour through Dar Ferteet
1 became acquainted with five of these towns, which repre-
sented so many centres of the slave-trade in this part of the
country.
But although the various Khartoom companies who had
thus taken up their quarters in the Dehms sent out expedi-
tions every year to the remotest of the Kredy tribes in the
west, and even penetrated beyond them to the Niara-niam
in the south-west, it did not take them very long to discover
that the annual produce of ivory was altogether inadequate
to defray the expenses of equipping and maintaining their
armed force. Finding, however, that the region offered
every facility for the sale of slaves, they began gradually to
introduce this unrighteous traffic into their commercial
dealings, until at length it became, if not absolutely the
prime, certainly one of the leading objects of their expedi-
tions ; thus the people whom the professional Gellahbas had
at fii'st hailed as friends grew up, ere long, to be their most
formidable rivals. For example, Seebehr Rahama himself,
who had to maintain a fighting force of a thousand men on
his territories, had, as the result of his ivory expedition in
the previous year, gained no more than 300 loads or 120 cwt..
a quantity which realised but little over 2300Z. at Khartoom ;
but at the same time he sent probably as many as 1800
slaves direct to Kordofan, there to be disposed ot on his own
account.
Ethnographically considered, Dar Ferteet presented a
wondrous medley. Perhaps nowhere else, in an area so
liniiterl, could there be found such a conglomeration of the
THE KREDY. 367
representatives of different races as upon the cultivated
tracts in the environs of the Dehras: they were evidently
the miserable remnants of an unceasing work of destruction.
As we have already observed, the neighbours of the Bongo
upon the west were the Golo and the Sehre, who combine
together and have their homes in common. Beyond them,
still farther to the west, are the Kredy. These Kredy do
not seem to be limited to any particular district, but like
blades of any one particular species of grass, crop up every
now and then, quite at haphazard, as it were, amongst the
other species in detached groups. The tribes which pre-
dominate, or at any rate those which I had the most frequent
opportunities of observing, were the Nduggo, who were settled
around Seebehr's Dehm ; the Bia, who were settled all about
Dehm Gudyoo ; and the Yongbongo, who occupied the region
between the two.
Of all the people of the Bahr-el-Ghazal district with whom
I made acquaintance, the Kredy, I think, were the ugliest ;
and whether it was in consequence of their longer period of
subjection, or thai they were depressed by their straitened
circumstances, I cannot say, but certainly they w-ere, to my
mind, very inferior in intelligence to the Golo, the Sehre,
and the Bongo. In form the Kredy are thick and unwieldy,
and entirely wanting in that symmetry of limb which we
admire in the slim figures of those who inhabit the swampy
depressions of the Gazelle ; but although their limbs are
strong and compact, they must not be supposed to be like
the muscular and well-developed limbs of Europeans. They
are like the true Niam-niam in being: below an averaire
height, and resemble them more particularly in the broad
brachy cephalic form of their skulls ; there is, however, a very
marked difference between the two races in the growth ol
the hair and in the shape of the eyes. Their lips are thicker
and more protruding and tlieir mouths wider than those of
any other negroes that I saw throughout the whole of my
368 THE HEART OE AFEICA.
travels. Their upper incisor teeth were either filed to a point
or cut away, so as to leave intervening gaps between tooth
and tooth ; in the lower jaw there is no mutilation, and the
teeth being left intact may perhaps account for their language
being more articulate than any other in this part of Africa,
although, at the same time, it bears but the slightest resem-
blance to any of them. Their complexion is coppery-red, the
same hue that is to be noticed among the fairer individuals
of the Bongo ; but, like the majority of the Niam-niam, they
are generally coated with such encrusted layers of dirt that
they appear several shades darker than they really are : as a
rule I should say that they are decidedly fairer than either
the Bongo or the Niam-niam.
The Kredy are bounded on the north by the Baggara-el-
Homr ; on the north-west, three and a half days' journey from
Dehm Nduggo, reside the tribe of the Manga, who are said
to be quite distinct from the Kredy; on the west, five or six
days' journey from Dehm Gudyoo, on the Upper Bahr-el-
Arab, are the abodes of the Benda, whose land has long been
known to the Foorians under the name of Dar Benda, and used
to be the limit of their venturesome slave-raids ; still farther
to the west are the settlements of the Aboo Dinga, who are
said to have no afiinity either with Kredy or Niam-niam.
The most important of the western Kredy tribes are the
xidya, Bia, and March, and towards the south-west their
territory is approximate to the frontier wildernesses of Mofio,
the Niam-niam king. Finally, in the south, there is a
mingled population of Golo and Sehre, the Sehre decidedly
very much predominating in numbers.
Before I had learnt the true state of things with respect to
the caravan-roads that started from Dehm Nduggo, I had
indulged the hope of making my homeward journey by the
overland route through Kordofan : the prospect of extending
my geographical knowledge by traversing unknown lands
was very attractive and almost irresistible, but when the diflS-
A PROJECT abandoned; 369
culties and drawbacks came to be reckoned up, I was com-
pelled, however reluctantly, to relinquish a project so perilous
as marching across the steppes of the Baggara, and to recon-
cile myself to retrace my course by the more secure and
habitual highway of the Nile. I could willingly have borne
the exposure to fatigue, and it might be to hunger ; I could
have risked the peril of being attacked, and could have stood
my chance of procuring the necessary provisions and means
of transport ; but the extreme uncertainty as to the length
of time which the slave-dealers' caravans would take upon
their northward return was of itself sufficient to deter me
from my scheme ; I ascertained that, whenever it suited
their interest, they would linger for weeks and weeks togethei
at various places on their way, and delays such as this were
altogether incor\sistent with my present purpose and con-
venience.
In the meantime I found a very desirable opportunity
of forwarding ray long-written letters to Khartoom : the
Turkish commander was about to remit his own despatches
by a caravan, and he undertook to enclose my correspondence
with his own. As a security against any injury that might
happen to the mail-bag from the caravan being attacked by
the marauding soldiers of the Sultan Hussein, Ahmed Aga
had provided an ordinary Arab travelling chest with a
double bottom as a hiding-place lor all the papers. The chest
was confided to a trustworthy Faki, who happily reached the
Egyptian frontier without molestation.
Taking seven leagues as an average day's march, the
journey from Dehm Nduggo to Aboo Harras on the southern
frontier of Kordofan is estimated to take thirty days. This
statement was confirmed by various independent testimonies,
and I found moreover that it corresponded with the distance
of the two places, as indicated by my map, a distance which,
according to the position that I assigned to Dehm Nduggo,
would be a trifle under 380 miles. The route first of all
370 THE HEART 0? AFJIICA.
leads in a N.N.E. direction to Seebehr's most northerly Seribii,
Serraggo, a distance which it takes three days to accomplish.
Another day's march and the traveller reaches Dalgowna, a
depot much frequented by the slave-dealers and situated on
the isolated mountain of the same name as itself, from which
there is said to be an extensive view across the northern
steppes. The Beery flows quite close to this Gehel
Dalgowna, on its way to join the Bahr-el-Arab farther to the
north-east. Three days' journey more and the Bahr-el-Arab
is attained, just at a spot were it marks off the frontiers of
the Baggara-el-Homr. On account of the so-called Bedouins
(known as " Arabs " in the common parlance of the Soudan)
residing upon its banks, the river has received, from the
traders of Kordofan and Darfoor, the designations both of the
Bahr-el-Arab and the Bahr-el-Homr : that these two appel-
lations belong to different rivers is quite a fallacy, and the
mistake, which has found its way into many maps, very
probably originated in travellers sometimes calling the river
by one name and sometimes by the other. There is really
but the one river. After another three days' march Shekka
is reached, the great rendezvous in the territory of the
Baggara-Eizegat. It may thus be seen that the journey
from Dehm Nduggo to Shekka may be accomplished in ten
or twelve days, according to the length of the day's
marching.
According to the statements that I gathered and have
now recorded, Shekka, I should suppose, corresponds with a
position described by Escayrac de Lauture in his valuable
accounts of these regions, and which he distinguishes by the
name of Sook-Deleyba (i.e., the market near the Deleb palms).
Shekka, in fact, appears to be an important market-place and
rendezvous for the itinerant slave-dealers, as well as for the
Baggara Bedouins, many of whom Have permanent homes
there ; it is the site also of the residence of Munzel, the
Sheikh of the Kizegat. But it is most notorious of all as
ROUTE TO DARFOOE. 371
being the principal resort of all the great Kordofan slave-
traders : being beyond the jurisdiction of Egypt and its
arbitrary officials, who are in the habit of extorting a specific
sum per head for hush-money on every slave that is conveyed
into the country, it is a spot that enables them to transact
their nefarious business free from the burdensome imposts, and
to transmit their living merchandise in whatever direction
may suit them, all over the provinces of the Soudan.
The journey from Shekka to Aboo Harras, I was given to
understand, would require eighteen days, and even with very
long days' marcliing could not be accomplished in less than
fifteen days. All my informants agreed most positively in
asserting that there were no streams of any magnitude to be
crossed, and that even in the height of the rainy season there
were no brooks nor swamps to offer any serious obstacle to
travellers. There was, however, no time of the year, not
even in the middle of winter, when the Bahr-el-Arab could'
be crossed by any other means than swimming, or by rafts
constructed of grass.
The caravan-roads from Dehm Nduggo to Darfoor were
closed at the time of my visit. Tliey nearly all started in a
N.N.W. direction. Almost immediately after leaving the
Seriba, the traveller would have to cross the Beery, and
proceed for three or four leagues until he arrived at the
subsidiary Seriba Deleyb ; another day's march to the north-
west would bring him to one of the minor Seribas, of which
the controller's name was Soliman ; and two days more
would find him at a Seriba on the Gebel Mangyat, as the
natives call that district. The notorious copper-mines
B-ofrat-el-Nahahs* are said to be situated six days' journey
* There is much uncertainty about the exact geographical position of these
famous mines. TJie accounts difier widely, so that I can only approximately
determine the precise situation. According to Brown, Hofrat is twenty-three
and a half days' journey from Kobbeh, the capital of Darfoor, whilst according
to Barth it is only eight good days' march from Teiidelti, which is a day's
372 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
to the south of this region of the Manga, and to lie on the
southern frontier of Darfoor. The copper is brought into the
market either in the shape of clumsily-formed rings, full of
angles, varying in weight from five pounds to fifty, or in long
oval cakes of very imperfect casting. The price that I had
to pay for the hundred rottoli (about 80 lbs.) that I obtained
from Seebehr was 1500 piastres, or 75 jMaria Theresa dollars,
which would be represented by about £15 of English money.
Seebehr had a Seriba on the frontiers of Darfoor that was
in constant intercourse with this important place, and
through his interest I obtained a sample of the ore of these
far-famed mines. It weighed about five pounds. One half
of it I handed to the Khedive of Egypt at an audience with
which he honoured me ; the other half I deposited in the
Mineralogical Museum at Berlin. The specimen consisted of
copper-pyrite and quartz, with an earthy touch of malachite,
commonly called green carbonite of copper, but containing a
very small quantity of the real metal.
No systematic mining seems to be carried on in the
"Hofrat-el-Nahahs," and the man wlio brought me the sample
carefully concealed in his clothes, informed me that the ore
was found lying like loose rubble in the dry bed of a khor.
It may be presumed that by boring galleries, or even by
hewing out quarries, a large supply of the metal might be
obtained without any vast expenditure of time or money, for
even in the present condition of things, while the solid rock
still remains intact, the yield of copper for years past has
been very considerable. The Foorian copper even now takes
a prominent part in the commerce of the entire Soudan ; it
)s conveyed across Wadai to Kanoin Haussa, and, according
to Barth, it holds its own in the market even against that
imported from Tripoli.
journey from Kobbeh. I should imagine that it probably lies a little to the
west of the position that I have assigned it in my map : of one thing I am
certain — it lies to the west of the roads to Darfoor.
CHAPTER XXII.
Underwood of Cycadeae. Peculiar mills of the Kredy. Wanderings in the
wilderness. Crossing the Beery. Inhospitable reception at Mangoor.
Numerous brooks. Hujje emporium of slave-trade. Highest point of
my travels. Western limit. Gallery-woods near Dehm Gudyoo. Scor-
butic attack. Dreams and their fulfilment. Courtesy of Yumma. Rem-
nants of ancient mountain ridges. Upper course of the Poiigo. Infonna-
tion about the far west. Great river of Dar Aboo Diiiga. Earth's inves-
tigations. Primogeniture of the Bahi-el-Arab. First giving of the
weather. Elephant-hunters from Darfoor. The Sehre. Wild game
around Dehm Adlan. Cultivated plants of the Sehre. Magic tuber.
Deficiency of water. A night without a roof. IiTepressible good spirits
of the Sehre. Lower level of the land. A miniature moimtain-range.
Norway-rats. Gigantic fig-tree in Moody. The " evil eye." Little steppe-
burning. Eeturn to Khalil's quarters.
As time elapsed, and I considered the life that I was
leading, I could not help thinking that there was something
in the lines of the Russian poet that was not altogether
inappropriate to myself: —
" Two years had passed; the gyp»ies still
Their frank and lawless lives fulfil ; *
From heath to heath they push, nor stay,
But find new quarters every day, »
All heed for culture cast away :
And Altck of their guild is free.
Nor liith nor kin remain his joy,
New pastimes every hour employ,
For gypsy, heart and soul, is he ! " *
It was on the 22nd of January that I prepared to resume
my wanderings. In tlie evening I took my leave of Sheikli
* Zwei Jahre schwanden, immcr wandern
Noch die Zigeuuer friedlich fort
Von einer Steppe zu der andem {Und
Vol. IL— 26
374 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Seebelir, and attended by six bearers, with whicb he had
provided me, I departed from the Seriba,
My first destination was the settlement of one of the
companies associated with Kurshook Ali, which was situated
on the Beery, about twenty miles from Dehm Nduggo.
The route for the most part was in a south-westerly direction,
over elevated ground that was channeled by no less than ten
running streams and khor beds, and along country that was
splendidly adorned with goodly forests. The defiles extended
from the south-east to the north-west, and stretched away
towards the valley of the Beery, which ran parallel to our
course at a few miles' distance to the right.
The first ii-regularity in the soil which crossed our way
consisted of a deep river- course, which was now quite dry and
shaded over by thick foliage ; the second was made by the
stream of the Uyeely, which, flowing out from a narrow
streak of thicket that corresponded very much in its vegeta-
tion with the galleries of the Niam-niam, with deliberate
current passed onwards to the west. Midway between the
Uyeely and the next stream, called the Uyissobba (the native
word for " a buffalo "), which consisted of a series of pools
that ranged themselves in a continuous series along an
open swamp-steppe, there stood a grove of tall trees. I was
much surprised to find the frequent occurrence of the same
species of Cycadea which I had observed in the Niam-niam
lands, but which here, through the absence of any under\\ood,
made a majestic upward growth, and expanded their noble
fans at the summit of a stately stem.
Und finden gastlich jeden Ort ;
Der jedeu Bildungszwang vei'aehtet,
Aleko ist so fiei wie sie.
Niclit die Familic, wie sie waivn,
Nichts weiss cr mchr vou fiiilieni Jahren,
Ganz ziim Zigeiiuer ward er schon.
{Gtrinan translation Jronc Piischhin's ' Tzigan'.')
KEEDY HUTS.
J75
The Kredy ^S'duggo call the eiicephalartus " kotto," and
my attendants acquainted me with the fact that they could
manufacture a sort of beer out of the central portion of the
stem, which was marrowy and lull of meal. Some of the
specimens that I saw had great cylindrical stems two feet
high, a contrast very decided to those that I had previously
seen, which were all quite low upon the ground. The male
flowering heads were often as many as eight or ten upon a
single stem. In tlie shadowy light admitted by the tall
Humboldtise that towered above, their stiff crowns had all
the appearance of being alien to the scene and a decoration
imported from some foreign soil.
After crossing a rippling brook we came to a village
belonging to the Kredy chief, Ganyong; on Seebehr's territory.
The fishing-nets, forty feet long and eight feet broad, with
their great meshes and floating rims made of the stalks of
the borassus, bore ample testimony, as they hung outside
Kredy hut.
the huts, to the productiveness of the Beery. Nets so large
as these I had never seen in the country, except among the
tribes that people the banks of the Dyoor.
The style of building amongst the Kredy appeared to mo
extremely slovenly and inartistif^. Most of the huts were
entirely Avanting in rsubstructure, and consisted merely of a
370
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
coni(!ul roof of grass i-aised upon a framework of hoops.
They recalled to my mind the huts of the Kaffirs. Ganyong
liad some corn-magazines of a very remarkable construction.
Tlicy were made very much upon the principle of the
>'gollotoh" of the Bongo, having a kind of basket supported
on posts and covered with a large conical lid ; but under-
neath the main receptacle and between the posts there was a
space left large enough for four female slaves to do aU the
necessary work for converting the corn into meal. A deep
trench was cut, and, being firmly cemented over with clay,
formed a common reservoir into which the corn fell after it
had passed from the murhagas or grindstones. The stones
Interior of Kredy hut.
Avere arranged so as to form a cross. The women who were
employed sang merrily as they worked, and in the course of
a day the quantity of corn they ground was very considerable.
At the next hollow, which appeared to have been a marsh
that was now dry, was a kind of defile rather thickly sprinkled
over with huts, where we found the native women busily
engaged in gathering the Lophira-nuts that they call " kozo,"
and use for making oil. The succeeding brook was named
the' Uyuttoo, and was lined on either side by avenues of
trees ; it was not much more than a trench, but it was full
of water. Farther on, right in the heart of the wood, we
made a passage over a khor, and having for a wliile mistaken
THE RIVER BEERY. 377
our way, we made a halt at a rivulet that was but eight feet
wide, but abundantly supplied with running water. It was
already quite dusk, and we were obliged to abandon all hope
of getting as far as the Seriba that day. I sent my bearers,
therefore, to make the best investigation they could of the
surrounding country, and to find out some settlement where
we could encamp for the night, as it appeared to be quite
impossible for us to bivouac with any degree of comfort in
the midst of the still vigorous growth of grass. During the
Khareef these thickets must be absolutely impenetrable.
Just in time a village belonging to Kurshook Ali was
discovered, and, after making a circuitous route to the south-
east, we fixed upon a convenient resting-place for the night.
Next morning we proceeded down to the river over very
irregular ground, up hill and down hill and repeatedly
broken by deep fissures. The dimensions of the Beery in
this district were anything but important : it flowed towards
the west, making a good many bends and curves, and after a
while turning short off. to the north. At this date it extended
over about two-thirds of the width of its channel, the depth
of the stream varying from one to two feet, and the water
flowing at the rate of about one hundred feet a minute. The
Ijanks were about eight feet high, and were crowned on either
hand by trees that, rising some fifty feet, threw out their
boughs and overhung the stream to a considerable distance
with a leafy canopy. I found a place in the most shadowed
portion of the wood where the river had formed a deep
basin, and I took a bath, which I found something more
than refreshing, and with the temperature at 68° Fahr.
I was obliged to take a good run to get warm again,
A mile to the south of the river there was an extensive
tract of land covered by farmsteads, merely separated from
each other by hedges, and inhabited principally by some
Gellahbas who had settled there and by some of the black
soldiers. Just beyond these, in a deep dopression, the
378 THE HEAET OF AFETCA.
rivulet of the Eende made its way towards the north-west.
Facing the settlement and towards the south, the valley
sank very low, whilst towards the west and south-west, the
country rose considerably in prominent wall-like ridges.
The controller of the place was named Mangoor, but he
was unwell and out of temper, and consequently had no
hospitality to show me, and allowed me and my people tct
start next day with empty stomachs and without any con-
tribution of supplies. Nor was much to be got out of the
native local overseer, Gassigombo, who had the supervision of
such of the Kredy tribe of the Jongbongo who had settled
there ; the country was so impoverished that he had neither
goats nor poultry to part with. An Egyptian, who was the
representative of the sick controller, was really the person
responsible for this ungracious reception, which was by far
the worst of all that I ever experienced at any of the Khar-
toomers' settlements. Between Nubians and Egyptians
there goes on a continual jarring, and their mutual animosity
is extremely bitter. The Nubians call the genuine Egyptians
by the name of " Wollad-er-Reef," the designation being
given to them in distinction to the other residents on the
Nile, although its real meaning is simply a Nile-dweller ;
the word " Reef," in fact, is the name of the Nile throughout
its course in Egypt.
The icy stolidness of my angry servants and the crabby
resentment of the Egyptian, whom they had somehow
managed to offend, gave me a vast fund of amusement in
spite of my melancholy plight. On the following morning I
found myself thoroughly unwell, and so weak that I hardly
knew how I should hold out during: the next sta^e of our
progress to the next Dehm. I had now double cause to
regret the loss of all my stock of tea, for although I tried to
compensate for the want of it by taking an extra quantity of
coffee, it did me but little good, and was comparatively
useless in bracing up my nervous system. I made it, how-
THEOUGH WOODS AND OYER BEOOKS. 379
ever, as strong as I could, and took it with me to sustain my
flagging energies and keep up my elasticity as I went along.
The Dehm Gudyoo, to which I was directing my steps,
was about twenty-two miles distant, and was one of the chief
establishments of the slave-traders who had settled in the
country. There were no less than ten brooks to be crossed,
of some of which the channels vvere partially dried up ; every
one of them without exception flowed from west to east
towards the Beery," which lay from this point onwards
upon our left hand, apparently following a southerly direc-
tion. The altitude above the sea, which hitherto upon the
route from Dehm Nduggo had been tolerably uniform,
began to increase considerably. The region was less thickly
covered with trees, but light brushwood took their place,
whilst the monotony of the steppes was broken by dwindling
watercourses. These seemed to flow from north to south,
and were described to me under the following names : the
first was the Eende, and had a tolerably strong current ; the
next was the Buloo, flowing along in a deep rift between
walls of red rock ; then came the Zembey, a mere meadow-
brook ; to this succeeded the Kungbai, flowing in its channel
along the open steppe ; next in order was the Eamadda, a
swamp-khor, that had but little current, on the banks of
which a number of little springs were constantly yielding
their fresh supply.
After this, the way began to ascend, blocks of hornblend
and schist occurring every now and then to vary the uni-
formity of the general configuration of the soil. As we
ajrain descended we came to another series of brooks. The
first was named the Biduleh, and ran rapidly along, its
banks being clearly indicated by rows of Raphia-palms ; the
next was of similar character, called the Gatwee, its borders
again lined by the Raphia: then came the Gobo, a much
smaller stream that murmured along its red granite channel ;
and then the Eadditch, shut in by a kind of gallery vegeta-
380 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
tion. The last of the series, by which we passed the night,
was a stream fifteen feet wide with a rapid current, the
water of which was up to our knees ; it was the Gresse, a
feeder of the Beery, and here it had an aspect that very
much resembled the Beery as we observed it at tlie un-
friendly Dehm. It was now full 30 feet wide, and made its
way amongst blocks and over flats of gneiss between lofty
banks that slanted down abruptly to the stream. The
declivity, amidst the openings of the thickets, revealed the
i-ed rock of the swamp-ore in many places, whilst down
below, the flats of the gneiss were everywhere apparent.
From the Gresse we had still eight miles to march along
very rising ground before we reached Dehm Gudyoo. As
well as being one of the oldest halting-places of the slave-
dealers of Dar Ferteet, and in number of huts quite equal to
Dehm Nduggo, this town contained a Seriba of Agahd's
company, and served as the headquarters of a division of
Khartoom soldiers, who made annual expeditions to the
territory of the Niam-niam king Moflo, in the west. Gudyoo
himself, formerly a Kredy chief and a great patron of the
slave-dealers, had now settled down to the east on the banks
of the Beery as an ordinary sheikh of Agahd's possessions.
Dehm Gudyoo formed the most westerly and, with the
exception of Mount Baginze, the highest point that I visited
in all my travels in Central Africa. The altitude of the
Dehm was about 2775 feet, and not much less than 500 feet
higher than Dehm Nduggo. From various indications in
the character of the soil I seemed to have no alternative
than to conclude that these elevations continue to rise still
more decidedly beyond Dehm Gudyoo, and that most
probably a considerable watershed would be found in the
region in that direction.
The character of the vegetation reminded me in more than
one respect of the flora of the Niam-niam lands. Dehm
Gudyoo stretches itself out on the northern declivity of a
SCORBUTIC ATTACK. 381
valley, and consists of huts and farmsteads, whicb, rising one
above another in a kind of amphitheatre, gave an imposing
aspect to the scene. Probably the number of huts exceeded
2000. From a spring close to the lowest tier of houses
issued a considerable brook, named the Kobbokoio, which was
shadowed over with tall trees and thick bushwood that gave
the borders very much the appearance of the Niam-niam
galleries. In the farther environs of this Dehm there were
a good many instances of plants that were very nearly allied
to those of the Niam-niam, and the dualism which charac-
terised the vegetation was very marked, and ever and again
recalled what I had observed before. On the higher parts of
the hill-slopes I found the Albizzia antlielmintica in con-
siderable quantities, the bark of which is the most effectual
remedy that the Abyssinians are acquainted with for the
tapeworm.
Although I had cause to congratulate myself upon the
hospitable reception that I found at Agahd's Seriba, and
appreciated the hospitality that was extended to me, my
condition altogether was so wretched that I might almost as
well have been left in the wilderness. A kind of scorbutic
affection, that had for some little time been lurking in my
system, probably in consequence of my having been deprived
for so many months of proper vegetable diet, now broke out
with some violence, my gums becoming so sore and the
whole inside of my mouth so inflamed that I could not take
anything but water without experiencing the greatest pain.
The restricted supply of provisions in the place naturally
aggravated my condition. As it hapjoily fell out, Faki
Ismael, the superintendent of the establishment, made me a
present of some sweet potatoes, which he had just received
from Dar Benda : at this season they were very scarce, but
they were very acceptable, and were the only food of which
I could venture to partake. In spite of my ailments, however,
I did not suffer my three days' residencs in Dehm Gudyoo
382 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
to pass away without employing them as profitably as I
could : I made a collection of words in the Kredy dialect,
and carefully inspected all the most interesting plants in the
district.
Large quantities of the Ashantee pepper are found on the
Kobbokoio, and just at this season the stem of the trees were
so beautifully decorated with its red clusters that they
gleamed from amongst the thickets almost as brightly as
a flame of fire. The Kredy might in this place alone, with-
out any difficulty, gather hundredweights of this pepper, which
amongst them bears the name of Dehre. The Nubians who
had taken up their quarters here had not the least idea of
the useful properties of the plant, and it had never occurred
to them that the red berries, after they were dried, would
become black pepper-corns. My disclosure seemed to give
them the greatest delight, and without delay they set to
work to gather the pepper, which they designed to be sent
off to Khartoom, a novelty in the way of their commerce.
In the bank- woods I found some muscat-nuts which, in the
previous year, I had not found on the Assika until the month
of March. The straight growth of its stout stem never failed
to attract attention.
At Dehm Gudyoo I learnt a great many details about the
aspect of the land still farther west that had been traversed
by the various companies of Agahd, Bizelly, Idrees Wod
Defter, and Seebehr Adlan. When we took our departure I
found that our road had a decline. In order to reach the
Bongo territory again I proposed to proceed in a kind of are
towards the south-east down to the Dehm Bekeer, where the
extensive establishments of the Gellahbas, stretching away
for miles, were collected, and where Eurshook Ali was in
possession of one of the most important strongholds which he
had inherited from his father-in-law. In a straight line the
distance between Dehm Gudyoo and Dehm Bekeer would
not exceed five-and-thirty' miles, but our deviations were so
A SERIES OF STREAMS. 383
frequent and so long that it took us two days of exceedingly-
hard marching to reach our destination. The entire district,
a thoroughly unbroken wilderness, was the true source-land
of the Beery and the Kooroo, both of these rivers at the
points where we crossed them being in the incipient condition
of mere brooks; nor did they seem to surpass the other
streamlets, thirteen in number, which we had to cross, in their
supply of water.
The universal direction which the streams took was from
south to north. Reckoning them in their order after leaving
Dehm Gudyoo, the first was the Domwee, quite a little
channel filled with a flowing current : after a considerable
rise in the land, we came to tlie Ghessy Beery (i.e., the Little
or Upper Beery),* with its broad water almost stagnant and
shadowed over by an extensive gallery-wood ; then came a
dried-up channel at the bottom of a broad and outspread
valley, of whicl; the western slopes were marked by crests of
hills some 400 or 500 feet in height ; to this succeeded an
uphill march, which led to a soil so elevated that it opened
an ample prospect into the far distant east, embracing at
least the chief landmarks for some eighty miles round ; next
succeeded a brook called the Yagpak, of which the waters,
still deep, were hemmed in by thick shrubberies ; next came
a little watercourse with languid stream ; and then a rivulet
twenty feet wide, full of water, and named the Gulanda,
where we spent the night, the direction of which was indicated
by the bushes on the banks. The level of the soil was here
about 400 feet lower than it had been at Dehm Gudyoo.
Farther on, close following upon each other, came two dried-
up khors ; after which the land once more began to rise again
in alternate flats of gneiss and lofty eminences of swamp-ore,
hills named Bakeffa and Yaffa lifting themselves up con-
spicuously on the east ; next Ave reached a small dried-up
course that intersected a valley made up of gneiss flats,
bounded on the west by the elevation of a hill, called the
384 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
Fee-ee; then, at about equal distances one from another,
vvere crossed four kliors, now dry, that gave an undulated
character to tlie ground; proceeding onwards we came to the
half-dry, half-swampy depression known as the Ohro; and
last of all we arrived at an inconsiderable water-channel of
which the stream was deep, but apparently stationary, and
was described by the EJi'edy as being the upper course of the
Kooroo, distinguished here by the name of the Mony.
The district over which we thus had travelled very much
resembled the northern regions of the Kredy lands in its
wooded character and in the absence of meadow-lands and
steppes; only it was utterly wanting in that distinctive
abundance of springs which is so marked in latitudes below
lat. 8° N. The deficiency of water, in comparison to what we
had before experienced, made itself very obvious. The flora
offered some few novelties ; in particular I was surprised at
the cabbage-like Euphorbia {Tithymalus), which, though
common in our zone, is quite a rarity in Tropical Africa.
In the dried-up watercourses I frequently saw one of the
rodentia which had hitherto been little known to me : this
was the reed-rat, called by the Foorians the " Far-el-boos."
I had tlie good fortune to bring down three of them, and,
after having been limited for three days to a diet of soaked
sweet potatoes, I very much appreciated a meal from their
delicate and tender flesh.
Never shall I forget the hospitable reception which Yumma,
Kurshook Ali's Yokeel, showed me at this Seriba, nor the cir-
cumstances under which it transpired. My gratitude was all
the more keen because the discourtesy and inhospitality which
I had experienced from Mangoor were still fresh upon my
memory. I was really worn-out by the fatigue of marching,
and very much debilitated by my compulsory abstinence in
consequence of my scorbutic attack, when in ihe early
evening we reached the Dehm. We wandered about for a
considerable time amoui>st the scattered homesteads, and had
A TRAVELLER'S DREAMS. 385
some difficulty in discovering the palings of the Seriba.
After we succeeded in getting inside, we found all the huts
perfectly quiet, and it appeared almost as if invisible hands
had prepared the coffee which was handed me as soon as I
had taken my seat upon tlie " angareb " in the reception-hall.
The ruler of the Seriba happened that evening to be absent
somewhere in the environs, and it was not known for certain
whether he would return that night. Feeling that it was
quite a matter of speculation what kind of entertainment
I should have on the following day, I threw m};self down
without taking any supper, and composed myself for my
night's rest.
Whoever has wandered as a lonely traveller in the un-
trodden solitudes of a desert likes to tell his dreams: in them
the true situation of a man often mirrors itself; for, un-
restrained by any control of reason, images arise from the
obscurity of the past, so that, at times, it seems as if a painful
vividness was being stamped upon recollections, which, as
reproduced, are really very contradictory to the actual facts.
It happened to me very much in tliis way at Dehm Bekeer,
only I had the compensation that the visions that I saw Avere
not disproved, but confirmed, by my experience.
Weary and worn-out as I was, and no longer master of my
faculties, I seem very soon to have fallen asleep. Memory,
unshackled from the guardianship of reality, began to revel
in the ideal delights of a material world. I fancied that I
was in a spacious tent that was glittering with the radiancy
of countless lamps, that the tables were groaning under the
most tempting viands, and that troops of servants in gorgeous
livery were in attendance upon the guests, to whom they
brought the mellowest and rarest of wines. And then it was
race-time at Cairo, and the entertainment was sumptuous
with all the splendour of the fairest imagery of 'The Arabian
Nights,' the host no less than the Governor of Egypt himself.
And then I seemed all at once to wake, and was quite be-
386 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
wildei-ed in trying to decide whether I was in the smoke-
clouds that envelop the interior of an African grass-hut or
whether in truth I was reclining under the shelter of a royal
marquee. My frame of mind enhanced the force of my
fancy : but soon the delusion took a more distinct phase, and
I seemed to divine that there was really about me a group of
well-dressed servants, and that whilst some were bringing in
various dishes and sparkling goblets which they placed beside
my lowly couch, others were running about with tapers and
lamps, and others with embroidered napkins under their
arms were conveying the choicest dainties in lordly dishes or
offering lemonade and sherbet from the brightest crystal. I
rubbed my eyes. I took a draught of what was offered me.
I surveyed the scene deliberately, and came to the surprised
conviction that what I had been dreaming was a reality !
Yumma, the controller of the Seriba, had returned home
late in the evening. No sooner was he informed of my
arrival than he had had all his retinue of cooks aroused
from their night's rest to give me an entertainment worthy
of his rank. He was more than half a Turk, and acquainted
far beyond the other superintendents of the Seribas with the
elegancies and comforts of a Khartoomer's household. Every-
tin'ng he possessed in the way of valuable vases or tasteful
table ornaments was brought out and exhibited in my honour.
He set before me bread of pure white flour, maccaroni, rice,
chickens served with tomatoes, and innumerable other deli-
cacies which I could hardly have supposed had ever found
their way to this distant land. It was quite midnight before
the preparations for the impromptu banquet were complete,
and then, whether I wanted or not, I was bound to partake.
My tortures were the tortures of Tantalus ; however eagerly
r might covet the food, the inflammation in my gums put an
emphatic veto upon my enjoyment, and it was only with the
acutest suflering that I could get a morsel of meat or a drop
of fluid between my lips. As soon, however, as I was some-
A LINE OF HILLS. 387
what better, the improved diet told favourably upon my con-
stitution, and after a few days I was ready to start afresh upon
my travels with renovated energy and recruited strength.
The environs of the Dehm are inhabited partly by the
Golo and partly by the Sehre. Amongst the natives the
town itself is known by the name of Dehm Dooroo, called so
after a deceased chieftain of the Golo. The present native
overseer of the Golo population is called Mashi Doko. To
the south and south-west of the town, the ground gradually
rise>!, and in the main might be called hilly in all directions,
as right away to the horizon there are continued series of
hill-crests and ridges. Above the general undulation of tlie
land these rise high enough to form conspicuous landmarks,
and afford the wayfarer considerable assistance in the direc-
tion of his journey ; many of them present an appearance
that is quite analogous to that of the hill-caps which have
been mentioned as characteristic of southern Bongoland ;
generally they consist of bright masses of gneiss. The shape
of these hills, is defined in the Arabic of the Soudan as
"Gala;" the Bongo call it "Kilebee." They are quite
isolated, and are always rounded elevations of grey gneiss
projecting, sometimes like flat plateaux and sometimes like
raised eminences, from the swamp-ore around, and they give
the landscape the aspect so characteristic of Central Africa.
They may readily be supposed to be associated in character
with those gneiss flats which are scattered all over the land
in every variety of shape and size, and any one must involun-
tarily become subject to the impression that they indicate a
spot where in bygone ages there were the summits of mountains
that have long since been worn down by the tooth of time,
and that these elevations were the ridges that liad st-parated
the channels of the very rivers that I had discovered, which
by various agencies, chemical and mechanical, were now con-
spiring to carry off the debris of the mountain mass and
convey it to the distant ocean. All along the way there
388 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
were the most striking evidences of how, in the operations of
nature, it had been brought about that every valley should
be exalted and every mountain and hill made low. The
problem over which antagonists may wrangle and refuse to
be reconciled has been successfully solved by Nature, whose
function has ever been to establish a balance between oppo-
sites ever since the days of her own early youth, before as
yet a living creature existed to give animation to the scenes of
earth. As instances to illustrate the certainty of these earlier
(;hains of mountains, I may mention the following, which the
reader will easily trace upon the map : The Taya, between
the Beery and the Kooroo ; the Bakeffa, the Kosanga, and
the Ida, between the Kooroo and the Bongo ; and the Kok-
kuloo, the Yaffa, and the Atyumen, between the Bongo and
the Wow.
On leaving Dehm Bekeer, a mile south from the Seriba,
we reached a small stream called the Ngudduroo, and on the
farther side of it, after traversing a hilly tract for about two
miles, we came to another stream which in winter could only
boast of a very weak current, although even then the breadth
of its bed was fifteen feet, thoroughly covered with water.
The banks were about eight or ten feet in height, and stood
out dry above the stream. Yumma, who accompanied me,
declared that it was the upper course of the river of Damoory
and Dembo, consequently that it was the Bongo, and he
affirmed that, in his frequent marches along its banks, he
had distinctly followed it right into that district. Both the
Golo and the Sehre throughout the environs called it the
Djee, and as I proceeded along my way I derived fresh con-
firmation for Yumma's statement about the river from the
circumstance that it is also called the Djee by those Sehre
who reside on the farther side, at Dehm Adlan. All along my
route back, moreover, towards the east, I did not come across
any river large or small which could' possibly be identified
as the upper portion of what is the Bongo at Damoory.
MOFIO AND SOLONGOH. 389
Some four or five leagues to the north-west of Dehm
Uekeer there is stationed one of Knrshook All's subsidiary
Seribas. The natives of the district are Golo, and the Seriba
has been established upon the banks of the Hahoo, a little
stream that subsequently joins the Kooroo. Two leagues to
the south-west of the Dehm rises a hill, steep in every aspect,
it is designated the Kokkuloo, and commands a wide view of
the country around. I found a number of intelligent people
in this locality whose information about the neighbouring
Niam-niam was of considerable service to me in ascertaining
various facts, and by comparing and combining their separate
accounts I was able to gain a fairly accurate idea of the
country. The particulars that I gathered were for the most
part appertaining to the territories of the two Niam-niam
chieftains Mofio and Solongoh. Mofio's residence was de-
scribed as . being situated to the W.N.W. of our present
position, and that, in consequence of the number of streams
that had to be crossed and the deserts that had to be tra-
versed, it could not be reached in less than twelve days, even
if the march were urged on with all possible speed, whilst
at an ordinary pace it would take fifteen days at least ; there
was, however, a way from Dehm Nduggo which was less
circuitous, and did not offer the same difficulties in furnish-
ing the bearers with supplies : tliis could be accomplished in
about eight days. The home of Solongoh, who was a son
of Bongohrongboh, was not distant more than a five days'
march to the S.S.E., and only separated from the domain of
Kurshook Ali in the lands of the Golo and Sehre by one
of the desolate frontier wildernesses. There was a third
independent Niam-niam chief, whose territory, however, was
of insignificant extent. He was called indifferently Yapaty
or Yaffaty, and was the son of Mofio's brother Zaboora : he
had his mbanga three days' journey to the south-west of
Dehm Bekeer.
At the period of my visit Yumma was on terms of open
Vol. II.— 27
390 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
enmity with Solongoh, his territory being constantly threat-
ened by that powerful prince, whose sway extended as far
as the Bellandah, who are bordering upon the land of Aboo
Shatter. Just before this, in fact only a few days previously
to my arrival, Solongoh had been repulsed in an attack
which he had made, although he had summoned his full
force and had advanced within a couple of days' march of
Dehm Bekeer. As Yumma foresaw that another engage-
ment was imminent, he would not permit me to remain any
longer in his Seriba, because he saw he could not be respon-
sible for the issue, and it was in vain that I begged him not
to have any apprehension on my account. But the audacity
of the Niam-niam was so gross that it was intolerable, and
must be suppressed at all hazards. To such a pitch had this
shameless daring grown that even the arms of the soldiers had
been stolen by people sent by Solongoh into Dehm Bekeer
for the purpose. Under cover of night they had contrived
to get into the Seriba, and had managed to purloin several
guns whilst the unsuspecting owners were sound asleep.
My researches in Dehm Grudyoo enabled me to gather
certain information which is of some consequence as affecting
the proper hydrographical delineation of the countries through
which I was travelling. Six days' journey south-west by west
from the spot at which we were sojourning stood a Seriba,
which was Idrees Wod Defter's principal repository of arms
and ammunition ; it was situated, as I was informed, upon
the banks of a river that flowed to the north-east, and after-
wards joined another river that was so much larger that the
passage over it could at all seasons only be effected in boats.
To this river the Khartoomers give the name of Bahr Aboo
Dinga ; it is said to be about two and a half days' journey
beyond Dar Benda, where Idrees maintains another Seriba.
It is a river that is likewise well known to the company of
Seebehr Bahama, which makes a yearly visit to the country
that is inhabited by the Aboo Dinga, a distinct negro people,
THE BAHR ABOO DINGA. 391
quite different alike to the Kredy and to the Niam-niam.
The direction of the stream Aboo Dinga was reported to be
E.N.E. or due east, and all the statements concurred in
making it identical with the Bahr-el-Arab, which intersects
the country of the Baggara-el-Homr.
No one seemed able to decide the question where the Bahr
Aboo Dinga came from. I suspect its source is somewhere
amongst the mountains of Eunga, to the south of Wadai, a
spot of which various travellers have given such reports as
they have been able to gather. Barth,* in the itinerary
which he gives of his eastward route from Massena in
Baghirmy to Eunga, makes an entry which may contribute,
something in the way of elucidating the question. He says
that he came " on the forty-second day {i.e. one day's journey
to the south of the residence of the prince of Eunga) to Dar
Sheela,t a mountainous district with a river flowing to the
east, beyond which lies Dar Dinga." No one is more con-
scious than I am myself how little stress is to be laid upon
a mere resemblance in the sound of names. Hundreds of
times, and in every diversity of place, I have found that any
conjecture based upon the apparent similarity is utterly
worthless ; but in this case the resemblance was not a chance
coincidence, for the assigned bearings and distances (as
reckoned from the two starting-points of Barth and myself)
so thoroughly correspond as to suggest the sense of a
mutual agreement between the scenes that we explored ;
it seems also very probable that Earth's river Kubanda is
identical with my river Welle.
Various reasons, into which it is unnecessary to enter with
more minuteness here, might be alleged to show that it is in
the highest degree probable that the river in question is
* Barth, vol. iii., p. 578.
t Some geographers fall into error with respect to this place by making
Dar Sheela identical with the well-known Dar Sileh or Dar Silah, which is a
different negro Mohammedan country, many of the people of which T have seen.
392 THE HP:ART OF AFRICA.
likewise identical with a river which is affirmed by the two
entirely independent witnesses, Teiraa* and Fresnel,t to exist
in tin's district, and to which the name of Bahr-el-Ezuhm,
or Azzoum, is assigned.
Although these statements are only given in their main
and essential features, and not in detail, they will sufiSce to
east some degree of clearness upon the source of the Bahr-
el-Arab, that river which appears hitherto to have been very
much underrated in all the maps of the country. The evi-
dence which demonstrates that the river is entitled to the
rank of primogeniture amongst all the tributaries of the
V Gazelle system, has already been collected in a previous
page. We have only to take account of the extraordinary
length, as maybe gathered from the foregoing data, to which
the Bahr-el-Arab extends, and we shall be at once bound to
concede that in all discussions connected with that endless
question of the sources of the Nile, the Bahr-el-Arab takes
at least an equal rank with the Bahr-el-Gebel.
Leaving the Djee at some little distance to our right, we
continued our return journey to the Wow and the Dyoor,
starting in a N.N.E. direction, and persevering for twenty-
five miles until we reached Dehm Adlan, just as it had been
described to me by the same reliable authorities to whom I
was indebted for such detailed particulars about the districts
of Mofio and Solongoh. Nearly throughout the march the
country was quite destitute of inhabitants, and we crossed
eleven little streams all running from west to east and flow-
ing into the Djee. We had first to cross a half-dry khor, sur-
rounded on all sides by open steppes, and then proceeded to
the farms of the Sehre sheik, Bereeah, which were situated just
* Vide De Cadalvene et de Breuvery L'Egypte, vol. ii. p. 237, where the
Orientalist Konig has given his interpretation ofu map, which Teima-Walad-el-
Siiltan-Messabani (Governor of Kordofan, subject to the control of Darfoor^
had himself projected.
t Fresnel pursued his researches in Djidda in the years 1848 and 1849.
THROUGH WOODS AND OVER BROOKS. 393
beyond a considerable brook, of which the water was nearly
at a standstill, and which bore the name of Langeh,
Our pathway now led us through bushwoods and over
soil that was generally rocky, till after accomplishing about
two leagues we came in sight of Bakeffa, a hill of which I
had previously taken the bearings ; it reared itself so much
above the flat table-land that it could be seen from afar. All
round the west, far as the horizon embraced the view, the
whole country was apparently one elevated plateau. For a
long time we had a river named the Gumende on our left,
and at intervals passed through the galleries of forest-wood
that enclosed its banks ; after a while we had to cross the
stream at a spot w'here it was thirty feet wide and ten feet
in depth. As surveyed from this place, the horizon upon
the north-east was shut out by the rising of some steepish
ground. The next brook that we reached w^as named the
Nyusseta; its water was nearly stationary, and beyond it
were still standing the dejected ruins of a previous Seriba of
Bizelly's. Having traversed a rocky tract broken by repeated
bushwoods, we next arrived at the large brook Gopwee, of
which the channel was deep, but the waters nearly still, its
banks being shrouded with very thick foliage. Then we
reached the Dibanga, of which we found that the bed was
of considerable depth ; but at this season it was divided into
a number of separate pools. Farther on we passed a gallery-
brook, in which the water had no movement, and finally we
came to a much larger stream, of which the surface of the
water was ten feet in breadth, the height of the woody
banks which shut in the channel varying from twenty-five
feet in some places to forty in others. Its name was the
Ndopah. The woods, which almost completely overshadowed
it, were composed in a large measure of great sterculiee,
which the Niam-niam call kokkorukkoo, and to which I
have already called attention as being so conspicuous in the
gallery-forests of the south.
394 THE HEAKT OF AFEICA.
Upon the banks of a little stream, by the sides of which
the trees were arranged as it were in avenues, and where a
kind of glen was formed amongst them, we came to an
establishment of slave-dealers, who, in company with some
elephant-hunters from Darfoor, had taken up their quarters
at the place which the Khartoomers simply designate by the
name of Bet-el-Gellahba, or " the abode of the slave-dealers."
As we were unable to reach the Dehm to which our steps
were bent, we were compelled to take up our quarters here
for the night.
On the following morning, which was the *5thof February,
I was very much surprised at the singularly clouded aspect
of the sky. After a long interval the night had been warm,
the atmosphere being oppressively close, an indication that,
just as might be anticipated at the beginning of February,
a change of weather was impending, and there was about to
ensue a transition from the coolness of winter to the heat of
summer without any interruption in the dryness of the air.
Before we arrived at the Dehm of Seebehr Adlan, who
was a Seriba owner associated with Agahd's company, we
had to journey over lands that were under vigorous cultiva-
tion and to pass by numerous farmsteads of the Sehre. On
our way it was necessary to cross two considerable brooks
that flowed in the hollow of some deep depressions, and were
closely shut in by lofty trees. Beyond the second of these,
which was called Ngokkoo, on the steep side of a valley
slope, lay the aforesaid Seriba, in the immediate environs
of which were clustered many groups of Glellahbas' farm-
steads, numerous enough to constitute a Dehm, which, how-
ever, was far smaller than any that we had previously
visited. The resident dealers in slaves were partly Foorians
and partly Baggara, and had an interest in the ivory traffic
as well as in their living merchandise. They conducted
their business in the regular Bedouin fashion, with sword and
lance, disposing of their spoil at the nearest Seribas, where
THE EIVEE DJEE. 395
their activity was much appreciated. The Baggaia, who come
into the country in the train of the slave-dealers (whether for
the purpose of tending the oxen which are wanted as beasts
of burden or of superintending the transport of the slaves),
are all of the tribe of the Kizegat, the Homr being the most
irreconcilable enemies of all the Gellahbas, no matter whether
these come from Kordofan or Darfoor, or whether they be
natives of Khartoom or other Nubians.
At the distance of a mile from the Seriba, towards the
east, the Djee had already expanded into a river some forty
feet broad ; its bed was full of water, which, however, did not
exceed two feet in depth ; it flowed deliberately towards the
north, between lofty walls of swamp-ore and over moss-grown
clumps of gneiss that half obstructed its flow along its bed.
The embankments on either side seemed to be equally in-
clined to the base of the valley, which they overtopped by
an altitude of nearly 600 feet ; so prolonged was the depres-
sion, spreading outwards for several miles, that the aspect
of the locality was quite remarkable. The affluents of the
river joined the main-stream by gorges in the soil, which
sank perpendicularly to the bottom ; and the land had the
singular appearance of having been regularly parcelled out
into distinct allotments.
The contented little community of the Sehre had esta-
blished itself in well-packed quarters, which were ranged for
some distance around the Seriba. The prospect all around
was very diversified, the landscape presenting pleasing alterna-
tions of light and shade, the dense woods being relieved by the
recurrence of the culture-lands and homesteads of the natives.
In general appearance the Sehre may be said to bear a
striking resemblance to the Niam-niam, except that they
are not tattooed. Originally they were a tribe of slaves
subject to the Niam-niam chieftains, but recently they have
migrated farther north, very probably encouraged to that
movement by the depopulation of the land in consequence
396 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
of tlie large and perpetual capture of the people for slaves.
However, many of the Sehre still remain subject to the
dominion of the Niam-niam prince, Solongoh. The pro-
lonn-ed intercourse that has existed between the two peopl^^
has done a great deal towards obliterating the nationality
and peculiar customs of the Sehre and to assimilate them
to the Niam-niam ; but to a large extent they retain their
own dialect, which, as might be expected, has many points
of resemblance with the Zandey. Many of the Sehre are
quite accustomed to the Zandey tongue and speak it fluently.
The long hair is precisely like what is found among the
Niam-niam, and the mode of arranging it in tufts and twists
is identical. Their complexion is a dark chocolate colour.
The Sehre are a robust and well-built race, and in this
respect they more resemble the Golo and the Bongo. Their
ethnographical independence, however, does not admit of a
question. Their huts attest the interest which their owners
take in them, and the amount of care that is bestowed upon
the management of their households is larger than what is
anywhere to be observed amongst the Golo, not to mention
those of the poor degenerate Kredy. The peculiar huts
appropriated to boys, which I have mentioned as being
adopted by the Niam-niam and called "bamogee," are
found here, and are always built in a style that is most
symmetrical. But their most remarkable structures are
their corn-bins, which are of a shape that I never saw else-
where. They are made in the form of a drinking goblet,
and are nearly always artistically decorated with mouldings
and with a series of rings almost as perfect as though they
had been produced with the aid of a lathe. They are always
built on a pedestal, which must be climbed in order to push
aside the projecting lid.
Among the Sehre I never saw either goats or dogs, and,
as far as I could judge, their residences had no other live-
stock about them but a few cocks and hens.
THE SEHEE. 397
There is nothing very remarkable about the arms of the
Sehre ; their lances resemble those of the Bongo, and are
very rare and quaint-looking weapon?. The bows and
arrows are considerably smaller than those of the Bongo,
the arrows in particular being of that short and stumpy make
that I had noticed amongst the Bellanda.
The women's attire consists of bunches of grass or leaves,
fastened to their girdle before and behind, and very like
what is worn by the Bongo ; it is also generally adopted
by the women of the Golo and Kredy. There is the same
partiality for inserting bits of straw in the sides of the
nostrils that is so common amongst the Bongo women, but
the example here is to a certain extent followed even by the
men. Many of thewomen have the circular plate let into
their upper lip like the Mittoo women. At the Dehm Adian
I observed several women who had an appendage hanging
from the lower lip in the shape of a piece of lead several
inches long. The teeth, both of men and women, are left
unmutilated, the only disfigurement being that an artificial
separation is made between the two central incisors. Ac-
cording to the ordinary fashion of Central Africa, infants at
the breast are carried in a girth, similar to a saddle-girth,
worn over the shoulders just in the same way as amongst
the Monbuttoo women.
Hunting in the neighbouring wildernesses, which cannot
extend much less than twenty miles in every direction, and
which appear to be entirely void of inhabitants, must be a
very productive pursuit. In all my travels I never came
across such numerous and abundant hunting trophies as here
amongst the homesteads of the Sehre ; they were contrived
out of branches of trees resting one against another and self-
supported like the guns of soldiers in camp, and were crowded
with the skulls and horns of animals that the natives had
secured. Hundreds of buffalo-horns, including a surprising
number of those of the females, were attached to the struc-
398 THE HEAET OF AFRICA
tures which stood in front of well-nigh every hut, and were as
numerous as though hunter vied with hunter in his separate
display. Every variety of horn was represented: inter-
mingled with the buffalo-horns were those of the eland-
antelope, the water-bock, the hartebeest, and the bastard-
gem shock, whilst skulls of wart-hogs, and occasionally even
skulls of lions, were not wanting to help adorn the trophy.
The proprietor of the Seriba happened to be absent on
an excursion to the western districts of the Niam-niam, but
his Yokeel did his utmost to provide me with a hospitable
reception; and taking into account the impoverishment of
the land and the general deficiency of provisions that pre-
vailed, I am bound to award him my best thanks for his
courtesy and attention.
Beyond the Kooroo, and just half-way between Dehm
Adlan and Dehm Gudyoo, there stands a hill of considerable
altitude, named Taya. The whole distance required two days'
hard marching to get over, the road being straight through
uninterrupted wilderness until it reached the farmsteads of
the Kredy sheikh, Gudyoo, on the banks of the Beery.
Shortly after midnight on the 8th of February there
came on such a violent storm that I was aroused from my
sleep, although I was sheltered by one of the best protected
of the huts. A complete change of wind ensued, and for
the first time this season the south-west wind set in afresh
and for some time maintained its position for the greater
part of the day. The nights in consequence became so
much warmer that any covering for the bed could easily
be dispensed with. We tarried here three days, and then
started for another three days' march on our return to
Bongoland, over a country all but destitute of water, for
the Pongo may be described as a river that separates a
district full of springs from one that is just as barren of
them, although the change in the level of the country comes
on so gradually that it can hardly be said to be observable.
KAERA, THE MAGIC TUBER. 399
In the course of our journey we had to cross the three run-
ning brooks known as the Ngokurah, the Simmere, and
Ngonguli, and to pass by several villages of the Sehre, of
which the sheikhs were respectively called Kombo, Villeke,
Badja, and Barraga. The last huts and the last water were
left behind about four miles after quitting the Pongo, and
henceforth water for drinking had to be sought for with con-
siderable trouble, as all the pools and marshes that supplied
any were only to be found scattered at wide intervals one
from another.
We spent our first night close to the farms of Barraga,
a spot which seemed especially remarkable for the clusters
of trophies, all covered with the skulls of baboons. Every-
where there seemed to be an extensive cultivation of cassava,
a product of the soil that seems hardly known at all to the
Bongo. Many things that I saw in their cultivation bore
evidence to their comparatively recent migration from the
country of the Niam-niam. Sweet-potatoes were as common
as cassava, and in addition to this were the ricinus, the
edible solanum of the Niam-niam, here called " dyooyo,"
and the horse-bean (Canavalia), which here bears the name
of " nzerahno." I also found a very peculiar creeper, with a
'Karra," the magic tuber.
double horny or finger-shaped tuber attached to the axils of
the leaves, like the edible helmia, to which genus of plants
it doubtless belongs. It is transplanted by the natives from
400 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
the woods and trained in the neighbourhood of the huts,
and is known under the name of " karra." I had already
noticed this plant in the Kredy villages on the Beery,
where I was told that the tubers were very much used as a
purgative medicine ; but amongst the Niam-niam, who like-
wise occasionally cultivate it, I heard a different account.
There it was said that the tubers are looked upon as a sort
of charm, and it is believed that a good show of them upon
the leaves is an infallible prediction of a prolific hunting
season. It was, moreover, affirmed that if a huntsman wants
to render his bow unerring in its capabilities, he has only to
hold it in his hand while he " slaughters " one of the tubers
over it, that is, takes a knife and cuts off the end and chops
it in pieces.
The first tract that we passed in our still eastward return
route was a uniformly thick wood, without any declivity at
all in the ground, or anything to indicate that it was ever
broken by a watercourse or standing pool of rain. About
midday we made a halt at a marshy brook named Kanda,
now dry, and set to work to explore the neighbourhood in
the hopes of discovering some water^ for, after a march of
eleven miles in the heat, we began to be suffering from
thirst. After a long search my people succeeded in meeting
with a puddly slough, from which the dirty superficies had
to be carefully removed in order to get at a little clear
water. It was a disgusting .swamp, the haunt of buffaloes
and wild boars, full of excrements and reeking with filth, a
compound of mould and ammonia. It was not until it had
been strained through handkerchiefs and well-boiled that
the water was purified of its odious smell. Only three miles
farther on we had the good luck to find the watercourse of
the Telle, overshadowed by thick foliage and running in a
tolerably bright stream : a sufficient inducement to make
the spot our resting-place for the night.
On the third day of our march we again passed several
NO ROOF OVER-HEAD. 401
dry khors that had little pools of water in them, but very
inadequate to our needs. In one of these there was lurking
a herd of hartebeests, which by the greyish fawn-colour of
their winter coats had quite an exceptional appearance.
Hundreds of maraboo-storks were congregated around a
marshy pond, where they were fishing for snails and worms.
At dinner we were again obliged to put up with the most
abominable and revolting of water ; our stock of provisions
was miserably short, and although I had knocked over a
few guinea-fowl, I had neither water in which to boil them,
nor grease in which to fry them. In the afternoon we were
startled by a storm, which, coming up from the north-east,
rolled away towards the south. We endeavoured to get
shelter in the wood beneath the thick foliage of the numerous
great Lophira- trees, but it was all in vain; for, after having
waited till daylight was waning, we were obliged to pro-
ceed in the darkness, and, thoroughly drenched to the skin,
marched for a couple of hours till we came to the banks of a
rivulet, where we were again overtaken by the rain.
A tedious, trying night, spent without a roof over my
head, seemed to fill up the cup of bitterness which I was
destined to drink upon this tour of privation. In the dark-
ness no grass could be discovered, and on account of the
dampness of the atmosphere no fire could be kindled, so
that it was entirely without protection from the wet and cold
that I had wearily to await the following morning, when,
■ half-perished by exposure, in spite of the continued storm,
I resumed my way, now become moi-e arduous than ever,
because, as a result of the rain, it had become exceedingly
slippery. The rain of this night had been quite an excep-
tion, and was very transient ; it passed away, and the preva-
lence of the north wind, during the last three days over-
powered by a current from the south-west, was for a time
restored.
Never do I recollect having seen a more cheerful little
402 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
people than the Sehre, if I may judge them by those who
acted as my bearers. No mischance, no fatigue, no hunger
nor thirst, seemed ever to take the smallest effect upon the
happy tempemment of these poor negroes. As soon as we
halted they began their jokes and pranks. There was not a
woe-begone countenance to be seen ; groans and sighs were
utterly alien to their disposition, and no sooner was their
work over, toilsome as it was, than they began to play, like a
lot of boys fresh out of school. Sometimes one would pre-
tend to be a wild animal, and was chased by the others ; or
sometimes they would contrive and carry out some practical
joke. Nothing seemed to entertain them more than to act
the part of a great clumsy tortoise, and to waddle about on
all-fours, accompanying their movements by all kinds of
grunting and clacking noises. And all this jocoseness went
on while their stomachs were empty. " If we are hungry,"
they would say, " we sing, and forget it."
We proceeded thirteen miles still eastward from the Telle,
and then the wooded country, which had continued in an
unbroken succession of thick trees of every variety all the
way from the *Pongo, came to an end. It was succeeded by
extensive steppes and marshy lowlands, which every here
and there was relieved by clusters of Terminalise. The
lowland was bounded towards the east by a range of hills,
the base of which we reached about four miles farther on.
The direction of the elevated land lay from the south-east
to the north-west.
Deviating now from the east a little more to the north,
our route conducted us towards Ngulfala, a Seriba in Bongo-
land, about fourteen miles away. We had to make our way
through a complicated system of rounded caps of gneiss,
and to wind round flat-topped hills that gave the district
the aspect of being a miniature mountain-chain, the source-
land probably of the Ghetty and the watershed between
that stream and the Pongo. The rise in the ground was
NGULFALA. 403
very obvious. The highest of the rounded eminences, named
Atyumm, was about 200 feet above our path, and at least
500 feet above the adjacent steppe below ; it had a semi-
spherical form, very like that of Gumango, near Bendo's
village, in the Niam-niam country.
Before reaching Ngulfala we had to cross the G-hetty,
here a meagre stream, corresponding to the absorbing nature
of the soil through which it flows. The distance between
the spot and where we had crossed it at Bizelly's Seriba is
about forty miles, but the river presented just the same
aspect — a broad, deep rift in the earth, with its water almost
stationaiy in its pools. A considerable number of maraboo-
storks were seen, either standing upon the banks or dipping
into the water-holes for fish and moUusks (Anodontie).
The altitude of the Seriba above the level of the sea was
1905 feet, about 500 lower than Dehm Adlan ; but it should
be observed that an accidental rise in the ground is made
simply by the hill-system of Atyumm, itself nearly 500 feet,
so that (without allowing anything for the cutting of the
stream) the gradual descent of the land during the thirty or
thirty-five miles that it extends eastwards from the Pongo
must amount altogether to just about 1000 feet.
The lower level of the soil becomes more obvious still
over the next stretch of country. The nearest Seriba in
Bongoland, called Moody, belonged, like the one before it,
to the possessions of Agahd ; and the thirteen or fourteen
miles that led us there brought us over a tract of perpetual
marshes, the flat steppes that divided them being traversed
by five khors that we found perfectly dry. The names of
these khors were reported to me as the Mingangah, the
Bolongoh, the Boddoowee, the Doggolomah, and the Kodda-
hirara, of which, if the testimony of my Bongo bearers is to
be trusted, the two former take their course northwards to
the Ghetty, and the three latter make their way southwards
to the Wow. '
404
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
In Moody 1 took a day's rest, as I had done in Ngulfala.
1 required it very much, as I had taken a violent cold, and
felt altogether weak and out of sorts. Throughout the time
we halted there was a strong north wind blowing, very keen
and chilly.
Feeliug somewhat better towards evening, I took a short
ramble amongst the homesteads of the place. It was here
that I came across the grave of the departed Bongo chief
Yanga, with its monumental erection, of which I have
A Bongo concert.
already * given an illustration. The Bongo here seemed to
show a remarkable originality in their contrivances. In their
huts I was continually finding sonie furniture or implements
which in other parts of the country had long become obso-
lete. The variety of their musical instruments, as I have
described them in the chapter devoted to their manners and
* Vide vol. i., Chap. VII.
NORWAY RATS. 405
customs, is very great, and to exemplify the use of them, I
may here introduce a sketch which repi-esents four young
men whom I saw in Moody, and who had met together to
while away the evening by performing quartets.
The controller at Moody was iu possession of a couple of
caracal-lynxes, which he had caught when they were quite
young, and which he was training, intending to send them
when full-grown to Khartoom. One of the Bongo men was
employed in attending to them, and in order to keep them
supplied with food he was obliged to spend the greater
portion of his time in catching rats. He used to bring them
home, tied up iu dozens, from the banks of the neighbouring
river-course. These rats were of a reddish-brown colour,
with white bellies, and were called "luny" by the Bongo ;
except that they are smaller in size, they are very like what
we know as " Norway rats." They are never found except in
the proximity of water, and appear to be indistinguishable
from those which infest the huts and granaries in every
respect but in colour. "Whether the Norway rats in their
dispersion have ever reached as far as these remote districts
is a question that I cannot answer, as the investigation of the
specimens I brought with me has not yet been completed.
Two leagues to the south-east of Moody lies a subsidiary
Seriba of Kurshook All's, named Moddu-Mahah; and three
leagues farther on in the same direction is the chief Seriba
of Hassaballa, known amongst the Bongo as Gellow. This is
situated on the hither side of the Wow, and at no great dis-
tance from it. The narrow strip of land between the Wow
and the Dyoor contains at least half a dozen smaller Seribas,
which lie along the route to the Bellanda, and which belong
partly to Kurshook Ali and partly to Hassaballa.
The little Seriba Moody, together with all its huts, was
overshadowed by a single fig-tree, of such enormous growth
that it was quite a magnificent example of the development
which that tree may attain. It belonged to the species
Vol. H.— 28
406 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
named tlie Fieus lutea, the rabehry of the Bongo. It was
not that the height of the stem of this giant of Moody
was very excessive ; the remarkable growth displayed itself
rather in the prodigious thickness and spreading habits of
the powerful arms, every one of wliich was so massive that
it might stand a comparison with the stoutest of our pines
and firs. The peculiar bark only appears on parts of the
stem ; its colour is light grey, and, like that of the plane, it
is scored with diagonal lines. All the boughs, right up to
the highest, are furnished with external pendant roots,
that hang in the air like a huge beard; they encompass
the trunk of the tree with a regular network, like rope
and string. But it should be observed of this species that
its principal branches altogether fail in throwing out those
perpendicular roots, which, falling straight downwards, find
their way into the earth and give such a remarkable ap-
pearance to trees like those venerable sycamores of Egypt,
which stand as though they made the pillared corridor
of a stately coliseum.*
A singular story was associated with this noble tree at
Moody, and I found the entire population of the Seriba still
)mder the influence of the astonishment and alarm that had
only recently been excited.. It appeared that one of the
great branches, having become worm-eaten and decayed,
had fallen to the ground, and as it fell would inevitably
have utterly smashed in a contiguous hut if it had tumbled
in any other direction than it did. This ffill of the huge
bough was attributed by the Nubians to the direct agency of
an " evil eye," which it was alleged had been directed against
the tree by a soldier who had happened to be passing through
* A sycamore of this description is to be seen on the island of Rodah in
Cairo, in the garden of the Duke of Dumont, where the formation of pillars
(promoted by hanging pitchers of water on tlie branches) consists of two per-
fectly concentric circles that girdle the whole stem. This sycamore is one
of the most remarkable natural curiosities of Egypt, and is well worth a visit.
EFFECT OF THE EVIL EYE. 407
the place the day before my arrival. Just as usual the
people had been collected in front of their huts under shade
of the tree, when the man in question, pointing significantly
to the bougii, said, " That bough up there is quite rotten ; it
would be a bad business if it were to come tumbling down
upon your heads." No sooner said than done. The words
were hardly out of the fellow's mouth before there was a
prodigious craclcing and creaking, and down came the huge
branch with a crasli to the ground. There lay the fragments.
I heard the testimony from the very lips of eye-witnesses,
and what could I say ?
It took us two days more to accomplish our return journey
to Wow. The chief Seriba of Agahd's company lay to the
north-east of Moody, and, allowing for a slight deviation from
the direct route, was about thirty-five miles distant. The
country was clothed with light bushwood, but in no part did
it exhibit anything like the same richness of foliage as the
western lands that we had left behind. We had to pass over
two low-lying marsh-districts, Katyirr and Dumburre, where,
hidden amongst the tall, half-withered grass, we found several
cavities filled by springs of water. At Dumburre we came
across traces of a deserted settlement, which, according to
the statements of the Bongo of my party, were the remains
of the very earliest Seriba that had been established in the
land. Our night was spent upon the borders of a marshy
stream called the Moll, and was very uncomfortable on
account of a heavy north-east gale which blew from ten
o'clock.
The dogs that were with me were kept in a constant state
of excitement by the perpetual rushing that went on in the
bushwood, and it was impossible to restrain them from
rushing off into the darkness, and carrying on a hunting
game on their own account. All through the night they
kept running in and out of the camp, very often returning
bespattered with blood. A i'arther indication of the abuud-
408 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
ance of wild animals that existed in the neighbourhood was
afforded by the continual howling of hyaenas, which, in a
manner that was quite unusual, kept us disturbed all through
the night.
For our supper that evening we had had a couple of fine
reed-rats measuring just twenty-one inches from their snouts
to the root of the tail. Before leaving Dumburre I had had
a small steppe-burning of my own. By the help of my
bearers, who were set to the work of beating the bush, I
had quite an interesting hunt, the produce of which had
been two zebra-ichneumons and the two far-el-boos (reed-
rats), which had been carried with us in triumph to the
camp.
Beyond the Moll we entered upon a hilly region, the
ground being much broken by scattered shrubs. On both
sides of the pathway lines of red rocky hills emerged in the
distance, varied occasionally by flats and rounded projections
of the ever-abundant gneiss. The next watercourse to
which we came was the Dabohlo, a marshy spot, but now
nearly dry, upon which we could discern the traces of a
large number of buffaloes. Here, also, we had a very prolific
hattue of guinea-fowl ; for the early morning hours had
tempted them to collect by hundreds around the little
[)uddlts which were left standing every here and there
within the limits of the marsh.
Far as the eye could reach there was nothing to be seen
but a gently-sloping steppe, entirely void of trees, which it
took the bearers 3000 paces to get over; but this accom-
plished, we reached a depression in the same marsh-lands
(now, however, perfectly dry) that were relieved in various
places by groups of Terminalice. Beyond this the ground
began to take a considerable ascent, the valley upon the far
east being bounded by a range of hills that ran from south-
east to north-west ; and the rise continued through the four
remaining miles that brought us to the Seriba.
RETURN TO MY FRIEND KHALIL. 409
Thus, after forty-nine days' absence, and numbering
876,000 paces in the interval, I again returned to the
quarters of my good friend Klialil. While I had been away
he had, for my special accommodation, most considerately
erected some new and pretty huts, in which 1 was very
pleased to spend the remainder of my sojourn.
CHAPTER XXIIL
KatliL'rine II.'s villages. Goods bartered by slave-traders. Agents of slave-
traders. Baseness of Fakis. Horrible scene. Enthusiasm of slave-
dealers. Hospitality shown to slave-dealers. Three classes of Gellahbas.
Intercourse with Mofio. Price of slaves. Relative value of races. Private
slaves of tlie Nubians. Voluntary slaves. Slave-women. The murhaga.
Agricultural slave-labour. Population of the district. Five sources of the
slave trade. Repressive measures of the Government. Slave-raids of
Mehemet Ali. Slow progress of humanity. Accomplishment of half the
work. Egypt" s mission. No co-operation from Islamism. Regeneration
of the East. Depopulation of Africa. Indignation of the traveller.
Means for suppressing the slave trade. Commissioners of slaves. Chinese
immigration. Foundation and protection of great States.
Probably the overland slave-trade along the roads of
Kordofan had never been so flourishing as in the winter of
1870-71, when I found myself at its very fountain-head.
Already, in the previous summer, had Sir Samuel Baker,
with praiseworthy energy, commenced scouring the waters
of the Upper Nile, and by capluring all slave-vessels and
abolishing a large " chasua" belonging to the Mudir of Fashoda,
had left no doubt as to the earnestness of his purpose ; but
whether it was that his peremptory measures had driven the
Gellahbas of Kordofan to a common centre, or whetlier the
reported scarcity of cotton-stuffs in the Seribas had raised
their hopes of doing some business, or whether, as perhaps
was most likely, the introduction of Egyptian troops into
the Bahr-el-Ghazal district opened a fresh and attractive
avenue to their avarice — one t.iing is certain that neither
Baker nor the Government (tha Viceroy being free from
blame in the matter) accomplished anything like a practical
..^.
nterj
,^:k\
GOODS FOR BARTER. 411
supervision over the local authorities in Kordofun. Satisiieci
with having, to the eyes of the world at large, made a clean
sweep of the waters of the Nile, Sir Samuel and his sup-
porters did not perceive, or could not remedy, what was going
on on either side of the great river-highway. To anyone
who should now enter the country under the impression that
the slave-trade on the Upper Nile was for ever abolished,
and should subsequently learn by contrast the true condi-
tion of the lands, a scene would be presented that might
well remind him of the painted villages that were exhibited
to Katherine II. on her tour through Southern Kussia.
The sheikh Seebehr complained bitterly of the great rush
of Gellahbas to his establishment, and told me that his corn
was so nearly exhausted that his land was threatened with
famine. From his own mouth I learnt that during the
winter two large caravans had come through Shekka, and
had brought into the country the enormous quantity of
2000 of these petty adventurers ; by the middle of January
the number was still larger, and at the beginning of February
was swollen again by 600 or 700 more.
All these traders break their journeys across the steppes
of the Baggara by making a lengthened stay at Shekka, for
the purpose of purchasing oxen both for riding and for
carrying burdens ; here also it is their practice to lay in a
stock of butter * for bartering in the Seribas, where it is in
great demand. The goods that they bring into the Seriba
districts are principally calico, " trumba," a coarse material
woven in Sennaar, and English cotton of two sorts, " ameri-
kani and damoor ;" they also make a market of a number of
firearms, mostly ordinary double-barrelled guns, of Belgian
manufacture, worth from ten to twenty dollars apiece ; in
addition to these they frequently carry on a brisk trade in
* The Baggara butter is of an excellent quality. It is packed in wicker
haskets, which are made impervious to damp by being smeared inside with
the pulp of the balanites.
412 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
all kinds of knick-knacks — pipes, looking-glasses, Turkish
slippers, red fezzes, and carpets.
Every Gellahba, according to his means, takes into his
service a number of the Baggara, to whom he entrusts the
training and management of his cattle. Camels invariably
succumb to the climate in a very short time, and are con-
sequently but rarely used as a means of transport. All the
traders ride asses, and it may safely be asserted that they
pass the greater part of their lives on the backs of these
animals ; in fact, a petty pedlar of the Soudan without his
donkey would be a sight almost as remarkable as a Samoyede
without his reindeer. Besides its rider the donkey will carry
not much less than ten pieces of cotton ; if it survives the
journey it is exchanged in the Seribas for a slave, or perhaps
for tv\o; its load of goods will bring in three more, and thus,
under favourable circumstances, a speculative vagrant, who
has started with nothing beyond his donkey and five pounds'
worth of goods, will find himself in possession of at least four
slaves, which may be disposed of in Khartoom for 250 dollars
(50Z.) The return journey is always made on foot, and the
unfortunate slaves have to carry all the articles necessary for
travelling.
But quite apart from these pettifogging traders, whose
innate propensity for trafficking in human beings can only
be compared to the ineradicable love of usury that charac-
terises the itinerant Polish Jews, there are numbers of more
important investors, who, protected by a large retinue of
armed slaves and accompanied by long trains of loaded oxen
and asses, carry on a business which brings many hundreds
of their fellow-creatures into the market. These more
wholesale dealers have their partners or agents permanently
settled in regular establishments in the large Seribas. More
frequently than not these agents are priests, or Fakis as they
are called, though strictly the term Faki belongs only to
those whose profession it is to explain the Scriptures ; it is,
FAKIS, 413
however, an indisputable fact that the slave-trade is included
amongst the secondary occupations of this class, and, as
matter of fact, they are all more or less soiled with the
defilements of this scandalous business. In the larger towns,
and especially in Khartoora, there is every opportunity for
observing their doings, and things often come to light which,
except they were actually witnessed, would seem perfectly
incredible. In finding scope for their commercial pro-
pensities they practice the most heterogeneous trades : the
poorer Fakis act as brokers, retail-dealers, amulet-writers,
quacks, schoolmasters, and match-makers ; whilst the richer
and more educated class are directoi's of schools and mana-
gers of inns, where they place paid subordinates to carry on
their business. The doctrines of the Prophet are taught in
their schools, whilst the merissa-shops are dedicated in a
large degree to the worship of Venus. But, in spite of
everything, these people are held in the greatest veneration,
and their reputation for piety not unfrequently survives the
generation in which they live ; they are buried in the public
places for prayer, the place of interment being marked by
small white banners as hallowed ground. A few words will
suffice to exhibit these holy men in their true colours.
NVith the Suras of the Koran in one hand and their
operating-knife* in the other, they rove from Seriba to
Seriba all over tlie country, leading what might be termed
in the most rigid sense a life of perpetual prayer ; every
other word that they utter is either an invocation of Allah
or a direct appeal to Mohammed-el-Rasool, But the wide
difference between faith and practice is exemplified in the
unrighteous dealings of these Fakis ; never did I see slaves
so mercilessly treated as by these fanatics, and yet they
would confer upon the poor souls, whom they had purchased
* The Fakis who come fiom Daifoor are probably the only people in the
world who still practise the ;iboniinable business of emasculating boys, auil
Lunuchft arc laidilly becoming more rare.
414 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
like stolen goods, for a mere bagatelle, the most religious of
names, such as " Allagabo " (i. e. given by God). The fol-
lowing incident will show that with their horrible blasphemy
they do not hesitate to combine such cruelty as the com-
monest scavenger would shrink from using to a dying dog.
In one of their convoys were some poor, miserable Mittoo-
slaves, almost too emaciated to bear the heavy yoke (the
sheyba) that was fastened to their necks. Going, as I was
wont, to my kitchen garden, I had constantly to pass the huts
in which they were kept. One morning, hearing an unusual
outcry, I paused to inquire what was the matter, A scene,
such as my pfen can only indignantly depict, met my gaze.
A dying man had been dragged from the hut, and was being
belaboured by the cruelest of lashes to prove whether life
was yet extinct. The long white stripes on the withered
skin testified to the agonies that the poor wretch was
enduring, and the vociferations I had heard were the shouts
of his persecutors, who were yelling out their oaths and
imprecations. "The cursed dog, he is not dead yet! the
heathen rascal won't die ! " Then, as though resolved to
accumulate cruelty upon cruelty, the Faki's slave-boys not
only began to break out into revolting jeers, but actually
played at football with the writhing body of the still
gasping victim; truly it seemed to be with justice that
La Fontaine had recorded : " Get age est sans pitie." The
horrible contortions of the sufferer's countenance, even if
they failed to excite commiseration, were sufficient to melt
the hardest of hearts; but so far from this, the unfeeling
reprobates were loud in their asseverations that the poor
wretch was only shamming, and intended to sneak off
unobserved. His pitiable appearance, however, gainsaid
their words, and he was finally dragged off into the woods,
where a few weeks afterwards I found his skull, which I
deposited with those of many others of his fellow-sufferers
in the Museum in Berlin.
GELLAHBAS. 415
Such is the history of the skull marked No. 36 in my
collection, and such are the deeds perpetrated in the very
face of death by Mohammedan priests, who consider them-
selves the very pillars of their faith. And yet our mis-
sionaries, perhaps the most guileless men in the world,
start by putting themselves on equal terms with these
Mussulnien, and endeavour to make headway against their
faith, when it is really a simple case of morality that is at
issue. The history of Islamism has ever been & history of
crime, and to Christian morality alone do we owe all the
social good that we enjoy.
It must not, however, be supposed that the minor retail
trade in slaves is uniformly lucrative. The smaller Gellahbas
are exposed to numberless mischances ; if their ox or ass
should die upon the journey, they must at once dispose of
tlieir other property at any price ; then, again, they are
liable to suffer from a lack of corn during their journey
across the wilderness; and, what is perhaps the sorest
disaster that can befall them, their slaves so frequently
run away, that their profits are dispersed before they are
realised. Their powers of endurance are truly wonderful.
I repeatedly asked them what induced them to leave their
homes, to change their mode of living, and to suffer the
greatest hardships in a strange land, all for the sake of pur-
suing an occupation that only in the rarest cases would keep
them from absolute want. " We want ' groosh ' " (piastres),
they would reply ; " so why should we live at home ? "
And when I further urged that they had far better lead
respectable lives, and either grow corn or breed cattle, they
answered, " No, that wouldn't answer our purpose ; when we
are at home, we are exhausted by the demands of the
Government, and corn doesn't bring us in any money."
Not that the Government is really so hard upon the people
as they assert; the fact is that they are incorrigibly lazy,
and have so great a dislike to work of any sort that they
41C THE HEART OF AFRICA.
do not care to be able to pay their taxes, which do not
much exceed those that are usually demanded in Egypt
proper. To expect that these slave-traders should renounce
of their own accord the business which suits them so com-
pletely, and for which they will endure any amount of
hardship, would be almost as unreasonable as to expect
Esquimaux to grow melons.
All trade is undeniably in a very stagnant condition in
the Egyptian Soudan; the rich man gives nothing away,
but lives like a dog, and has no desire beyond that of
privately amassing wealth ; of domestic comfort, or luxury
even on the limited Oriental scale, he has not the faintest
conception. There is consequently no demand for labour,
no circulation of money in wages, and it is manifestly
impossible for trade to flourish as long as the rich man
consumes nothing ; and equally impossible for the poor man
to thrive while the rich man keeps his retinue of slaves,
who do all he wants without requiring payment. Thus
slavery itself ever reproduces slavery.
One material alleviation to the position of the Gellalibas
is the open hospitality they meet with in all the Seribas.
Besides the mercenaries of the various ivory companies — the
controllers, clerks, agents, storekeepers, and oth.'r oflScials —
they find numbers of their compatriots and brethren in the
faith who have taken up their abode in these lands, and who
subsist free of expense on what is gained by the sweat of the
negroes ; mere idle drones, as it were, living on the produce
of the workers. The rabble thus collected consists partly of
escaped convicts and partly of refugees or outlaws who are
evading their proper punishment, and if they could be swept
from off the face of the land, there would then be food
enough for half a score of regiments, should the Egyptian
Government determine to station them in the countrv.
Just in the same way as in the Egyptian Soudan, the
actual cost of travelling in these lands is next to nothing;
THREE CLASSES OF GELLAHBAS. 417
every new coiner to a Seriba is treated to kissere and
melah, and his slaves and donkey are provided with corn
enough to keep tliem from starvation. Wherever they go
the Gellahbas may stay as long as they please, and accord-
ingly they wander all over the district from the west to
the east, as far as the Kohl and the Dyemit, and only
just before the commencement of the rainy season they re-
assemble at their common place of rendezvous in Seebehr's
Seriba, where they re-organise their caravans, and make their
final preparations for starting for Kordofan.
The Gellahbas who, either on their own account or as
representatives of others, carry on the slave-trade in this
district may be divided into three classes : —
1. The petty dealers, who, with only a single iiss or
bullock, come in January and return in March or April.
2. The agents or partners of the great slave merchants
in Darfoor and Kordofan, who have settled in the Seribas,
nearly always in the capacity of Fakis.
3. The colonised slave-dealers, who live on their own
property in the Dehms of the west.
The last of these form the only class who ever penetrate
beyond the bounds of the Seriba district into the negro-
countries. They nearly all direct their course from the
Dehms in Dar Ferteet to the territories of Mofio, the great
Niam-niam king of the west, and are accompanied by con-
siderable bands of armed men, whom they recruit for this
purpose from the best of their slaves. Contrary to the
policy' of the Khartoom ivory-merchants, the Gellahbas have
by degrees supplied King Mofio with such a number of fire-
arras that he is now said to have at his command a force
of 300 fully-equipped warriors, a formidable fighting-force
with which he seriously threatens any expedition of the
Khartoomers that may enter his dominions. His store of
slaves appears absolutely inexhaustible ; year after year
bis territories go on yielding thousands upon thousands,
41K THE HEART OF AFRICA.
which he obtains either from the slave tribes * that he has
subjected or by raids organised against the surrounding
nations.
As regards the price paid for slaves, I can only report
what I personally witnessed in the Seribas. Copper and
calico are used as the principal mediums of exchange.
Calico is very fluctuating in its value, which is always first
reduced to its equivalent in copper. In 1871 thirty rottoli
of copper t in Dehm Nduggo and twenty-five rottoli in the
Bongo anl Dyoor districts was taken for young slaves of
both sexes of the class called " sittahsi " (literally, six spans
high), meaning children of eight or ten years of age ; thus
making the average price in this country, according to the
value of copper in Khartoom, to be about 7^ Maria
Theresa dollars (IZ. 10s.); particularly pretty women-slaves,
called " nadeef," *'. e. clean or pure, fetch nearly double that
price, and are very rarely procured for exportation, because
they are in great demand amongst the numerous settlers in
the country. Strong adult women, who are ugly, are rather
• heaper than the young girls, whilst old women are worth
next to nothing, and can be bought for a mere bagatelle.
Full-grown men are rarely purchased as slaves, being
troublesome to control and difficult of transport. Slaves in
the East are usually in demand as objets de luxe, and conse-
quently lead an idle life, and are not valued according to
their capabilities for labour.
In consequence of the glut of wares in the market during
the winter of 1871, the quoted value of slaves rose to almost
double that of the previous year, and very high prices were
paid in cotton stuffs. As much as four or six pieces of the
* These belong to tlie tribes of the Sehre, the Nduggoo, the Fakkerey, the
Baddoh, and the Tabbob, &c.
t A rottoli is equal to 15 oz. IBdrs. avoirdupois. Thirty rottoli is here a
somewhat imaginary weight, being not worth more than eighteen Egyptian
rottoli.
PRICE OF SLAVES. 419
ordinary sort (damoor) were paid for the " sittahsi," each
piece measuring twenty-four yards in length, and worth two
Maria Theresa dollars in Khartoom. Next to white cotton
materials firearms are a very favourite means of payment, and
bring in a far larger proportional profit. For an ordinary double-
barrelled gun of French or Belgian manufacture, a slave-
dealer can purchase two or three sittahsi, and if the weapon
has gilt facings he can sometime's obtain as many as five for it.
The price of slaves in Khartoom at that time might be
reckoned to be at least six times their original cost ; of course
it will be understood that the value would be regulated to a
great extent by the more or less severe measures taken by
the local government for the suppression of the trade ; but
at the time of my departure from Khartoom, at a period
when the market was tolerably unrestrained, no slave could
be obtained for less than forty Maria Theresa dollars, and
that was the lowest price given for elderly women only fit
for household service.
The slaves brought from the Bahr-el-Ghazal disti:icts vary
in value according to their nationality. The Bongo are the
most prized, as they are easily taught and are docile and
faithful, and are, besides, good-looking and industrious.
True Niam-niam, especially young girls, are, however, much
dearer than the best Bongo slaves, but they are so extremely
rare as hardly to admit of having a price quoted. The Mittoo
are of little value, being ugly, lean, and incapable of enduring-
fatigue or even of undertaking any regular work. No
amount of good living or kind treatment can overcome
the love of freedom of the Babuckur; they take every
oportunity of effecting an escape, and can only be secured by
fetters and by the yoke ; * the same may also be said of the
Loobah and Abaka. The demand for slaves in the Seribas
* The portrait on the following page is that of a Babuckur slave bound by a
leather rope. Her piteous expression of countenance sliows her distress at
her condition.
Vol. II.— 29
420
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
through which I travelled would alone sufifice to support a
very flourishing trade. Numerically the Mohammedan
settlers bear a high ratio to the native population, and in
some of the western territories, as amongst the Kredy, Golo,
and Sehre,'they are actually considerably in excess of the
total number of natives, who only consist of bearers and
Babuckur slave.
agricultural labourers. Taken one with another every Nubian
possesses about three slaves, and thus it may easily be conceived
that the computation is not too high that places the total
number of private slaves in the country at between 50,000
and 60,000. These private slaves are quite distinct from
those that are kept in store and used as merchandise ; they
may be divided into four categories : —
1. Boys from seven to ten years of age, who are employed
to carry guns and ammunition: every Nubian soldier pos-
FAROOKH. 421
sesses at least one of these juvenille armour-bearers. Wheu
they get older they are included in my next category.
2. The second class includes the greater part of the full-
grown natives in the Seribas. They are termed '• Farookh,"
" Narakeek," or " Bazingir," and, being provided with guns,
form a kind of Nizzam, whose duty it is to accompany the
natives in all their expeditions, whether for war or for
trading purposes. These black soldiers constitute nearly
half the fighting force in all the Seribas, and play a pro-
minent part in time of war. It is the duty of the Farookh
to scour the negro villages in search of com, to assemble the
bearers, and to keep under coercion any that are refractory
in the wilderness. In every action the hardest work is put
upon their shoulders, and they have not only to sustain the
chief brunt of any actual conflict with the savages, but to
provide for the safe custody of all prisoners. If the control-
lers of the Seribas had a sufficient number of these Farookh,
they might well dispense altogether with their Nubian
soldiers, except for one reason, to which I have already
referred, viz. the constant danger of their running away, a
risk that makes them practically less reliable than the
Nubians, who never think of such a thing, and even if they
did, would only join another company. The Farookh have
wives, children, and land in the Seribas, and some of the
elder amongst them have even slave boys of their own to
carry their guns. Their ranks are largely increased after
every Niam-niam expedition, as numbers of youug natives
will often voluntarily attach themselves to the Nubians, and,
highly delighted at getting a cotton shirt and gun of theii-
own, will gladly surrender themselves to slavery, attracted
moreover by the hope of finding better food in the Seribas
than their own native wildernesses can produce. The mere
offer of these simple inducements in any part of the Niam-
niam lands would be sufficient to gather a whole host of
followers and vassals, and during our journey I myself
422 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
received proposals to join our band from young people in all
parts of the country. I mention this circumstance just to
illustrate my opinion of how easily the Egyptian Grovernment
might, without using any compulsion, enlist here as many
soldiers as it required. I am persuaded that, without any
difficulty, whole regiments of Nizzam troops might be raised
from amongst the Niam-niam in the course of comparatively
a very few days.
3. The third class of private slaves is formed of the women
who are kept in the houses. Every soldier has one of these
slaves, and sometimes more, in which case one is advanced to
the position of favourite, whilst the rest are employed in the
ordinary routine of preparing meal, or in the tedious process
of baking kissere. These women are passed like dollars
from hand to hand, a proceeding which is a prolific source
of the rapid spread of those loathsome disorders by which
the lands within the jurisdiction of the-Seribas have been
infested ever since their subjugation by the Khartoomers.
In accordance with the universal rule in the Mohammedan
Soudan, the children of a slave are reared as legitimate, and
the mother receives the title of wife. The daily conversation
of the Nubian mercenaries is a continual proof that their
thoughts are always running on their slaves both male and
female. If a quarrel arises amongst a group of people, one
is certain to be correct in surmising that some slave or
other is being reclaimed or the payment due for her is being
demanded ; or if there is a sudden uproar, the burden of the
cry is sure to be, " A slave has run away ! " " Kummarah
oUoroh," shout the Bongo, and " Ollomollo, ollomollo,"
resounds from every side. Many and many a time have 1
been roused from my slumbers in the early morning by such
cries as these, and it is one of the occupations of the Seriba
people and their negroes to hunt down and recapture these
rimaway women. Hunger often obliges the fugitives to
take refuge in a strange Seriba ; here they are looked upon
HOUSEHOLD DRUDGES. 423
as lucky windfalls, and are either seized by force or are'
quietly disposed of to the itinerant Gellahbas ; and if the
rightful owner subsequently appears to claim his property, a
violent squabble will inevitably be the result. These slaves
are thus the subject of one incessant wrangling; and if a
slave absent herself only temporarily without the consent of
her master, she will at once excite his jealousy, displeasure,
and mistrust.
The single slave of the poorer soldiers is a regular drudge,
or maid-of-all work : she has to bring water from the well in
great pitchers, which she carries on her head ; she does all
the washing, if there is anything to wash ; she grinds the
corn upon the murhaga, makes the dough, roasts the kissere
on the doka, and finally prepares the melah, a horrible
greasy concoction of water, sesame-oil or pounded sesame,
bamia-pods, and corchorus leaves, beautifully seasoned with
cayenne pepper and alkali. Not only has she to do the
sweeping of the whole house, but she has to get wood from
the wilderness, and, when on a journey, to supply the want of
any other bearer by carrying all the lumber of her lord
and master. In <,he larger households, however, of the
more important people, such as controllers or agents, where
slaves are numerous, each woman has her own allotted task,
and a large number of boys is employed, who follow their
master on his travels, each carrying a single weapon, either a
gun, a pistol, or a sword. From all this some little idea may
be gained of the unwieldy crowd that must necessarily be
attached to every march undertaken by the Nubian mer-
cenaries. To a force of 200 soldiers on our Niam-niam
expedition there were as many as 300 women and boys; a
party which, as well as immoderately increasing the length
of the procession, by the clatter of their cooking utensils-
and their everlasting wrangling (scenes of which I have
already given some illustration), kept up a perpetual turmoil
which at times threatened a hopeless confusion.
424
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
. The rude and primitive manner of grinding corn employed
throughout the Mohammedan Soudan contributes more than
may at first sight seem credible to perpetuate the immense
demand for female slave labour. The very laborious process
is performed by pounding tke grain on a large stone, called
murhaga, by means of a smaller stone held in the hand ; it
is the only method of grinding corn known to the majority
of African nations, and is so slow that by the hardest day's
work a woman is able to prepare only a sufficient quantity of
Slave at work.
meal for five or six men.* A mill worked by oxen has been
erected by the Government in Khartoom, not only for the
use of the troops, but also to enable private individuals to
have their corn ground at a moderate price ; but in spite of
this provision the durra-corn is still pounded on the murhaga
* The apcompanying illustration represents one of the daily scenes in my
travelling life, and may serve to give an idea how slavery degrades a woman
almost to a level with the brutes. A newly-captured slave, with the heavy
yoke of the sheyba fastened to her neck, has been sentenced to work at the
murhaga, whilst a boy, who has been placed as a spy to keep a constant watch
upon lier conduct, holds np the yoke in order that it should not interfere with
the freedom of her movements.
SLAVES EMPLOYED IN AGKICULTUKE. 425
in all the houses; not a single resident takes advantage of the
improved facility that is oEfered. Until this lavish waste of
human strength is suppressed, either by the introduction of
mechanical handmills or by putting a tax upon the mur-
haga, no hope is to be entertained of any diminution in the
demand for female slaves. This is but one instance, yet it
may suffice to show how gradually and consistently one
must set to work ultimately to gain the suppression of
slavery in the Soudan : nowhere can old institutions be
declared to be abolished, until new institutions have been
provided to take their place.
4. In my fourth and last category I would include all
slaves of both sexes who are employed exclusively in hus-
bandry. Only the men in more important situations, such
as the controllers of the Seribas, the clerks, the dragomen
(generally natives who have been brought up like Arabs in
Khartoom), the Eakis, and the colonised Gellahbas actually
cultivate the soil and possess cattle ; the poorer people being
content with a little occasional gardening and the possession
of a few goats and fowls. Old women, who are too weak for
anything else, are employed to weed the fields, and at harvest
time the Farookh are called to their assistance. Statute
labour as applied to agriculture is nowhere demanded of
the natives, although it w'ould really act less disadvan-
tageously on the condition of the population than the arbi-
trary system that allows any controller of a Seriba to seize
the children from the native villages and dispose of them
to the Gellahbas, a proceeding that is generally carried out
as a punishment for offences like dishonesty, treachery, or
attempts to abscond.
The remote position of the Seribas places the controllers
far beyond any authority, and makes them quite indepen-
dent of the jurisdiction of the chiefs of the trading-firms,
who are most of them settled in Khartoom without much
care for either their own advantage or for that of the conn-
426 THE HBAET OF AFRICA.
try ; it thus becomes necessary to appoiut trustworthy people
to the post, and consequently the head-controllers are in
many cases slaves who have been reared in their master's
house. A controller has every opportunity if he pleases of
coming to an arrangement with the soldiers and other officials,
and in concert with them of acting very much to his chief's
disadvantage ; or he might sell the negroes on his territories
to the Gellahbas, turn the proceeds into copper, and retire as
a rich man to Darfoor, already a place of refuge for many
delinquents from the Egyptian Soudan.
The sub-controllers and agents in the subsidiary Seribas
are, on the other hand, far less trustworthy ; their position is
often held only for a temporary period, and consequently
their interests are not so firmly bound up with those of their
chiefs as those of his former slaves. Then, too, the smaller
Seribas are often so far apart that the Vokeel can transact
all their business without any supervision from the head
controller ; all this is well known to the itinerant slave-dealers,
who have a special preference for visiting these minor settle-
ments, because they are aware that they can there buy up
numbers of boys and girls, disregardful of the fact that, as
future bearers and agricultural labourers, the children are
vassals belonging to the soil, and form part and parcel of the
property of the head of the firm.
After thus considering slave-labour in its separate branches,
and gaining some idea of the immense and wasteful expendi-
ture of human energy that goes on in the Seribas of the
Khartoomers, we may turn our attention to the numerical
proportion of the foreign settlers (with whom must be in-
cluded their private slaves) to the actual aboriginal popu-
lation. The following table is founded upon a careful
calculation; the results are given in round numbers, as
fuller details would demand more space than could be
afforded here.
OONSUMEKS AND PRODUCERS. 427
Proportions of the Population in the District of the Khar-
TOOMERs' Seeibas on the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
Consumers.
Nubian soldiers, recruited in Khartoom and consisting of natives of
Dongola, Sheygieh, Sennaar, Kordofau, various Bedouins, &c. . . 5,000
Black slave troops (Farookh) * . . . . . . . . 5,000
Fellow-boarders with the Nubian idlers from the Soudan, living here
in order to procure corn cheaply and without any trouble . . 1,000
Gellahbas settled in Dar Ferteet, and agents in the Seribas,
Fakis, &c 2,000
Itinerant Gellahbas, who enter the country in the winter .. .. 2,000
Private slaves belonging to the colonised Mohammedan population . . 40.000
Total . . 55,000
Produceks.
Bongo 100,000
&c.) 30,000
10,000
6,000
4,000
20,000
Mittoo (including Loobah, Madi
Dyoor
Golo
Sehre
Kredy
Small tribes of natives belonging to the immediate environs of the
Seribas, such as the Dembo, Bimberry, Manga, &c. . . ■ . 20,000
Total .. 190.000
In the next place let us turn our attention to those slaves
who are regarded as actual merchandise, and who are dragged
into bondage from the Upper Nile lands solely for purposes
of profit. In order to demonstrate how important at the
present time is the part taken by the district of the Gazelle
in the entire African slave-trade, I will take a brief survey
of the sources which all the year round supply the endless
succession of the dealers with fresh stores of living wares,
* I should point out that the total number of the soldiers maintained in
the Bahr-el-Ghazal district by the twelve great mercantile firms in Khartoom
iimounts to 11,000. I have here given the lowest computation.
428 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and which, branching off into three great highways to the
north, yield up their very life-blood to gratify the insatiable
and luxurious demands of Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and Asiatic
Turkey. Previous travellers have estimated the total of the
annual traflSc in this immense region to be 25,000, but I
shall show by a very summary reckoning that this is far too
low a computation. The three currents for the slave-trade
in north-east Africa (a region corresponding to what may
be geographically termed the " Nile district ") are the natural
highways of the Nile and the Eed Sea, and the much fre-
quented caravan roads that, traversing the deserts at no great
distance to the west of the Nile, find their outlet either in
Siout or near Cairo. As a proof of how little these roads even
now are known, I may mention that when, in the summer of
1871, a caravan with 2000 slaves arrived direct from Wadai,
it caused quite a sensation in the neighbourhood of the
pyramids of Gizeh ; it was supposed to have traversed a
geographical terra incognita, and it divided and dispersed
itself as mysteriously as it came. It is far more difficult
to place the deserts under inspection than the ocean, and
this is especially the case in the vicinity of a river, where a
caravan can easily supply itself with water for many days.
The borders of a desert are like the coasts of an unnavigable
ocean. The plan, however, of establishing a system of con-
trol along the borders of the Nile Valley, corresponding to
the coastguard cruisers on our seas, has never yet been
tried.
The following are the territories that form the sources of
the slave-trade in North-Eastern Africa (Nile district) : —
1. The Galla countries to the south of Abyssinia, between
latitude 3° and 8° N. The outlets from them are : (a) via
Shoa to Zeyla; (&) via Godyam through Abyssinia to
Matamma and Suakin, or to Massowa and smaller unguarded
coast towns; (c) via Fazogl to Sennaar, where the largest
market is not in, but above Khartoom, in a place called
SOURCES OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. 429
Mussalemia ; the merchandise brought by this route is
abundant and valuable. According to the reports of the
Abyssinian collectors of customs the number of slaves in
Matamma (G-allabat) amounted in 1865 alone to 18,000.
2. The second source is found amongst the Berta negroes
above Fazogl, and amongst the Dinka above Sennaar, between
the White and Blue Niles. These are likewise carried to
Mussalemia and Khartoom, but in no considerable numbers.
3. The Agow, in the heart of Abyssinia between Tigre and
Amhara, together with the people on the north-west frontier
of the Abyssinian highland, are also exposed to plunder of
the persons of their, sons, on account of their disorganised
condition and their position on the wild border-land. The
channel for their dispersion is across the Red Sea to Djidda.
4. The upper district of the White Nile, inclusive of the
Albert and Victoria Lakes, though the slave-trade really
begins at latitude 5° N. The expedition of Sir Samuel Baker
has stopped this source. The annual produce in the most
favourable years did not exceed 1000.
5. The supply of slaves in the upper district of the Bahr-
el-Ghazal is chiefly derived from the Bongo, Mittoo, and
Babuckur. For the last twelve years the Gazelle has never
been navigated by more than twenty boats. On their return
journeys the soldiers of the ivory merchants carry their own
slaves with them as payment and perquisites ; but it is very
rare for a boat to carry more than twenty or thirty of these
slaves, so that the annual transport of slaves to Khartoom
by this route never exceeded from 400 to 600. This fact
is perfectly authentic, and thus it may be seen that even
before Sir Samuel Baker's expedition put a stop to it
altogether, the slave-trade that was carried on down the
river was quite insignificant compared to the overland traffic.
For years thepe has been a public prohibition against bringing
slaves down tfie White Nile into Khartoom, and ever and
again stronger repressive measures have been introduced,
430 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
which, liowever, have only had the effect of raising the land
traffic to a premium ; but as a general rule the Egyptian
officials connive at the use of this comparatively unimportant
channel of the trade, and pocket a quiet little revenue for
themselves by demanding a sum varying from two to five
dollars a head as hush-money. This expense, together with
the continual risk of the property being confiscated in
Khartoom, has always prevented the river trade from reach-
ing a very flourishing condition ; at all events, the Egyptian
Government has hitherto had the best of it. Consuls from
England, France, Germany, and Austria have been, and are
still in residence at Khartoom, and a Copt was also tem-
porarily appointed as consular agent for America; it was
therefore an easy matter for the Egyptian officials to feign
in the eyes of the world at large a wonderful amount of zeal
and energy in the suppression of the slave-trade, especially
as every confiscation threw the whole cargo into their hands ;
for the slaves were never sent back into their native lands,
but the full-grown men were turned into soldiers, whilst the
young girls and boys were divided at discretion amongst
the troops of the garrison. In these transactions a formidable
bond was always entered into by the receiver, from whom the
former owner was at liberty at any time to re-purchase
the slave.
6. As we have already seen, the great source of the slave-
trade is to be found in the negro-countries to the south of
Darfoor, which are included under the name of Dar Ferteet.
The natives, who for the last forty years have been exposed
to the rapacity of the slave-dealers, and have been annually
exported to the number of from 12,000 to 15,000 souls,
belong to the Kredy tribes ; but the great bulk of the slaves
come from the western Niam-niam territories, where the
powerful King Mofio (whose residence is about under latitude
7° N. and longitude 24° E.) carries off on his own account,
from the neighbouring nations who are not Niam-niam, large
CAEAVAN ROADS. 431
numbers of slaves, and sells them to the Gellahbas, by whom
they are conveyed by the overland routes already mentioned
across Kordofan to Aboo Harras in the Egyptian dominions.
There are other routes that lead direct to Darfoor, whence
caravans start twice a year to Siout. Kordofan is in many
ways in direct communication with the most important
markets of the slave trade ; the following being the most
frequented caravan roads : {a) from Aboo Harras to Khartoom
via El-Obeid; (b) from Aboo Harras eastwards to Mussa-
lemia through Sennaar; (c) from Aboo Harras across the
Begudah steppes to Dongola via El-Safy ; {d) from Aboo
Harras to Berber along the Nile, for the purpose either of
crossing the great Nubian Desert or of keeping farther to
the east across the Red Sea. All these routes are associated
to me by the many reminiscences of slave-transport which
I recall as having myself witnessed there.
7. A final and by no means unimportant source of the
slave-trade is found in the mountain lands south of Kordofan.
The general term for the negroes of these parts is Nooba,*
a people that are much in demand on account of their beauty
and intelligence. It was in these Nooba mountains that, after
his bloody conquest of Kordofan, Mehemet Ali, the great
reformer and usurper in Egypt, allowed kidnapping to be
a legitimate source for the State revenue. From the slaves
thus obtained he formed black regiments, by means of which
he was to subdue the insalubrious Soudan, and paid his
officers and subordinates with a portion of the plunder.!
As the Egyptian Government itself was the first to teach
its subjects to kidnap slaves, it behoves it now in these more
humane times to make amends for all its past delinquencies,
* This word must not be confounded with Nubian, a word which has come
down from antiquity, and which, like the term Egypt, did not originally
apply to the inhabitants of the Nile Valley.
t If this account of slave capture in the time of Mehemet Ali should
appear incredible, I would refer the reader to a book that contains the
narrative of an eye-witness : Pallme, ' Travels in Kordofan,' London, 1844.
432 THE HEAKT OF AFKICA.
aud I most cordially acknowledge that the present ruler,
with all the resources at his command, is striving most
honourably to accomplish the task.
Slavery, with its inseparable adjunct the slave-trade, is
almost as old as the world in which we dwell ; there is not
a page of history that does not bear its traces, and not a
climate nor a people in which it has not made good its hold.
An impartial survey of the past cannot but convince us that
religious institutions have effected little or nothing in the
cause of humanity, which has been left to take its own course
of development. At the present day slavery is considered
incompatible with Christian doctrine, but the history of
ancient Christianity shows a different picture.* The oldest
Fathers of the Church seem to have had no conception of
there being anything wrong in possessing or selling slaves ;
for although Christianity inculcated the precepts of brotherly
love, it also set forth the duty of slaves as slaves, rendering
obedience and submission to those who were their masters.
JJut the light that rose over Galilee emanated from a spirit
so sublime that it has taken eighteen centuries to accomplish
its course of penetrating the world, and only now is beginning
to reveal itself in its true purity.
But nowhere in the world has slavery been so thoroughly
engrafted and so widely disseminated as in Afi-ica; the
earliest mariners who circumnavigated its coasts found a
system of kidnapping everywhere established on a firm basis,
and extending in its business relations far into the interior
of the continent; the idea arose how advantageously the
owners of land in the distant East might cull the costly
products of their soil by the hands of slaves ; and the kernel
of a single plant, the coffee berry, became the means of
uniting the remotest lands, and had the effect of throwing
* Under the most Christian-minded Popes of the eighth century, slave-
markets and the slave-ti-ade flourished unhindered, not only in Italy but in
Rome itself.
ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. 433
a large portion of the human race into subjection to their
fellows, whilst Christian nations became the patrons and the
propagators of the disgraceful traffic. It has therefore
happened in the natural course of things that philanthropists
have first applied their energies to the slave-trade in the
West ; the East has still to tarry for an enlightenment which
is destined in the fulness of time to gladden a future chapter
of history.
Half the task is now accomplished. Two great nations
have speeded on the work: England in theory, North
America in practice. For scores of years the ships of Great
Britain cruised about the shores of Africa for the purpose of
stopping the export of slaves ; but although the outlay was
great, the result was small ; nevertheless a path was broken
for the realisation of the ideas of Wilberforce, for whose
noble endeavours the best sympathies of all nations had so
long and ardently been enlisted. Finally the civil war
broke out in North America, and great and glorious as had
been the services rendered by England in the cause of
humanity, honour greater and more glorious still was won
in long and bloody strife by her brethren beyond the ocean.
Now the black man has free footing in all parts of the
Western Continent ; and in the Eastern, the seed of liberty,
sown scarcely ten years back, is already bearing its first fruit
on African soil ; the export of slaves from the coasts of
Guinea, which in the middle of the last century amounted
to 100,000 annually, exists no longer, and the shores are
enlivened by populous towns, the inhabitants of which are
engaged in peaceful traffic ; all the work of a few years, and
all owing to the happy termination of the American civil
war.*
* 1 would refer especially to the district of Lagos, where the advance has
been rapid to a degree hitherto unheard of in the history of the continent.
In 1871 the entire commerce of the British possessions on the West Coast
amounted to 2,556,O0OZ., and may at the present time be estimated at 3,000,OOC
sterling.
434 THE HEAET OF AFKICA.
Our af^e is now anxiously awaiting the fulfilment of the
great work, but the other half of the task has still to be
accomplished; the dark cloud of barbarism still lowers over
the innermost regions of Africa, and Egypt, the oldest and
richest land of the historical world, has its mission to per-
form. A great revolution has already begun, and although
at present it affects only the surface, there is scarcely any
reason to doubt that progress, alike spiritual and humane,
will ultimately claim the victory. But the task is gigantic,
and no one can be more sensible of this than the traveller
who has lingered at any of the sources of the slave-trade.
One point there is in which all are unanimous — that from
Islamism no help can be expected, and that with Islamism
no compact can be made. The second Sura of the Koran
begins with the prescription : " To open the way of God, slay
all those who would slay you; but be not yourselves the
first to commence hostilities, for God loves not sinners ; slay
them wherever you meet them ; drive them away from the
spot from which they would drive you, for temptation is
worse than a death-blow." Islamism, the child of the deserts,
has everywhere spread desolation, and wherever it has pene-
trated, deserts have arisen bleak and bare as the rocks of
Nubia and Arabia, and under its influence every nation from
Morocco to the Isles of Sunda has congealed into a homo-
geneous mass ; inexorably it brings all to one level, remorse-
lessly obliterating all traces of nationality or race.
That Islamism is capable of progress is merely a supposi-
tion that has been hatched up from books, and has no foun-
dation ; there is likewise nothing to prove that it has fallen
to decay ; its condition appears to be that of one perpetual
childhood. Its votaries are like the germs of vegetation that
slumber in the sands of desert valleys ; a drop of rain, a
mere nothing, may call them to a transitory life ; the plants
bear their flowers, produce their fruit, then die away, and all
becomes once more buried in a long deep sleep.
• EGYPTIAN APATHY. 435
Another question then arises as to whether Mohammedans
might be roused to civilisation by adopting Christianity. If
a European residing in Egypt were asked whether it would
be possible ibr the people to adopt European customs with-
out forsaking Mohammedanism, he would at once answer in
the negative ; and if he were further pressed with the inquiry
whether there was any prospect of the religion ever changing,
his reply would again be that there is not the remotest hope
of such an issue. And this opinion would seem to be borne
out by what has been experienced in Algiers, where the
gentle administration of the French Government, with its
" Bureaux Arabes," has always prevented the colony from
becoming rich and populated by Europeans. The European
costume is the only one of our civilised institutions that
has hitherto been adopted in Egypt, but underneath this
external garb there, still lurks the old feeling of hatred for
the Franks, a feeling which is perceptible only to those who
penetrate into their domestic circles.
But whether Egyptian officials wear an Oriental dress or
a European dress, their ideas about slavery and the slave-
trade are stereotyped ; it is the fashion in good society to
have a house full of slaves, and their presence is considered
indispensable. Now if a man were to keep two, or even
three, properly paid servants, and see that they did their
duty with order and punctuality, he would be making some
advance in civilisation : but now, what is the impression on
entering the homes of the rich Egyptians ? There, comfort-
ably settled on the divan, sits the master of the house, silent
and contemplative, a man of peace and quietness ; nothing
seems to disturb his composure ; all the nobler passions are
quite alien to his nature ; hunting and fishing, riding and
boating, are quite unknown to him, and he never puts himself
to the trouble of taking a walk. If he is thirsty, he has
only to raise his hand and say, " Ya, wolled " (here, fellow !)
and in an instant his slave hands him a glass of water ; oi-
Vol. II.— 30
436 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
if he wants to smoke or to go to sleep, it is " Ya, wolled " just
the same : everything is done for him, and he does not stir
an inch to help himself. Now supposing some fine day
all these " wolleds " were to take themselves off, what would
befall these fine gentlemen on their divans, and where would
they turn for all the trifling comforts of their daily life ^
Their sluggish nature would be invaded by a feeling of dis-
quietude that they had never felt before ; they must either
die or become new creatures. This description, which
applies to every rank of life, is only a reflection of the
lethargic apathy that prevails in every Oriental State ; an
inference necessarily follows that of equal importance with
the abolition of slavery is the dawn of a new life in the East.
If this regeneration .is impossible, then slavery is a per-
manent necessity.
The kind treatment of slaves, and the comfortable lot that
they enjoy, in comparison to the hardships of their rude,
rough homes, are pleas that have often been urged in ex-
tenuation of slavery in the East. It is certainly true that
the contrast in slave-labour is very great, and whilst Euro-
peans have looked upon their slaves as little better than
useful domestic animals, the Oriental slave is a mere object
of luxury. Only a small proportion of the slaves that are
brought annually from the interior are employed in field-
labour in Egypt, though rather more frequently in the
Nubian provinces. The European, although he deprived
the negro of his ordinary rights, still compelled him to
become a useful member of society ; the Oriental allows
him a portion of his rights, but trains him up to general
incapacity ; the occupations of filling pipes, handing water,
boiling coffee, and holding a salver, are not employments
worthy of a man. Slavery in the East, in spite of its good
living and fine clothes, is not at the best a very enviable posi-
tion ; but such as it is, it is purchased by these poor creatures
at a heavy price ; they have to submit to a long and painful
DEPOPULATION OF AFRICA. 437
journey across the deserts ; they have to suffer the extremest
hunger and fatigue, and to be exposed to the contagion of
disorders, such as their fresh blood, pure with the simplicity
of a life of nature, is especially liable to imbibe, and alto-
gether they are doomed to be subject to hardships so severe
as to decimate their ranks.
But the worst feature in the case is the depopulation of
Africa. I have myseK seen whole tracts of country in Dar
Ferteet turned into barren, uninhabited wildernesses, simply
'because all the young girls have been carried out of the
country. Turks and Arabs will urge that they are only
drawing off useless blood, that if these people are allowed
to increase and multiply, they will only turn round and kill
one another. But the truth is far otherwise. The time has
come when the vast continent of Africa can no longer be
dispensed with; it must take its share in the commerce of
the world, and this cannot be effected until slavery is
abolished. Sooner than the natives should be exterminated,
I would see all Turks, Arabs, or whatever else these apathetic
nations may be called, vanish from the face of the earth ;
they are only occupying the place of their betters ; and
negroes, if they only work, are their betters.
I travelled in the Nile countries from 1863 to 1866, and
again from 1868 to 1871 ; on my first journey I visited all
the great markets of the slave-trade, Cairo, Siout, Djiddah,
Suakin, Matamma in Gallabat, Khartoom, and Berber ; in
my second I reached its sources in the lands to the south of
Darfoor and Kordofan. Throughout my wanderings I was
ever puzzling out schemes for setting bounds to this inhuman
traffic. The traveller in these lands is kept in one perpetual
state of irritation by what he sees ; on every road he meets
long troops of slaves ; on the sea and round the coasts he
comes in contact with Arab boats crammed full of the same
miserable cr.^atures.
Whilst exploring the coasts of Nubia and Egypt in 1864
438 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
and 1865, 1 spent eight months on the Red Sea. The slave-
trade there was then in a flourishing condition, but the
accounts * of what I saw attracted no more attention than
the complaints made by my predecessors. The consuls in
Djiddah and other ports on the Bed Sea were afraid to take
any measures that were not sanctioned by European policy,
and consequently Arabs were allowed to carry on that which
amongst Spaniards and Portuguese would have been considered
piracy. Not a man-of-war was to be seen cruising on the
water, and yet one single gunboat would have sufficed to
keep a check upon the intercourse between the opposite
coasts, and to make the slave-trade an impossibility. A
change has now been effected, and all the Powers that are
interested in the matter have done their utmost to remedy
the evil ; but even on the Red Sea there still remains much
to be done, and even now there are far too many secret
landing-places and loopholes which escape the vigilance of
the authorities.
Many a time, under the consciousness that alone I was
utterly powerless as a vindicator of humanity, I have re-
strained myself from the temptation to rescue slaves with
my own hands. Once, between Khartoom and Berber, a lot
of slaves was being brought from Kordofan, and I cut in two
the leather thongs that bound them to their sheyba ; but an
ugly squabble was all that resulted from my interference.
At other times I have vehemently remonstrated with the
slave-dealers, when I have been a witness of any cruelty in
their treatment of their property; but all to no purpose.
It may therefore be imagined that a traveller in his fury
and disgust will be led to devise all manner of schemes for
eradicating the system, and although, when weighed in a
calmer frame of mind, many of his plans will seem chime-
* Detailed accounts appear in the 'Zeitschrift fur AUgem. Erdkunde.
Vol. xviii. 186G.
SUGGESTIONS FOE SUPPRESSING THE SLAVE-TRADE. 439
rical and even impracticable, yet it may be that uheir very
apparent impracticability at least proves the gravity of the
situation, and shows the inadequacy of the present means of
suppression. But such as my schemes were, I will venture
to indicate them here. They contain no shifts, no com-
promise, no expectatioii of better times, no dependence on
Egyptian officials, not even a hope of assistance from the
Viceroy, who, however good his intentions may be, has not
the power to do much. A talent for organisation is not
sufficient to rouse whole nations from their apathy ; no small
hero can do the work, but it would require a powerful re-
former like Peter the Great, and a people like the Eussians,
or the Japanese of the present day, who would easily imbibe
the ideas of the West. I beg therefore to submit the follow-
ing as suggestions towards the suppression of the slave-trade ;
they embody at least the ideas of one who has been a witness
of what transpires at the sources of the slave-trade in Central
Africa.
1. To place the country under an Administration formed
on the European principle, and to appoint Europeans to fill
the highest posts ; the French have officials who understand
the language, and the English have their experience to show
them how Mohammedans may be pressed into the service of
a well-regulated State. This pl,an would please the fellaheen
of Egypt, whilst the rest of the people would be indifferent
to it, as long as they were not severely taxed.*
2. To appoint commissioners of slaves, who should travel
about the provinces, and keep watch upon all the highways
of the slave-trade ; they should be invested with the fullest
authority, and rank above the local officials. They should
have the power of arresting and imprisoning every slave-
* The long possession of almost sovereign rights enjoyed by European
consuls in the East has given the people a confidence in their sense of justice,
and would prevent them from fearing any encroachment on their religious
opinions.
440 THE HEART OP AFRICA.
dealer, of sequestrating his property, and of equipping expe-
ditions for the purpose of conveying the rescued slaves back
to their own homes. As these expeditions would have to
traverse hostile territory, they must necessarily be armed,
and the commissioners of course should be perfectly incor-
ruptible, inasmuch as they would be constantly exposed to
the temptation of accepting bribes.
3. To place the negro-countries that suffer most from
the slave-trade under the protection of European Govern-
ments, by founding States expressly for their defence. The
splitting up of African nations into small States has ever
been the main hindrance to the introduction of civilisation
amongst them ; it is only large Powers, and such as are
competent to organise themselves, that offer a likely foun-
dation for the establishment of any thriving commerce or
traffic.
4. To introduce a Chinese immigration into the Mo-
hammedan countries of Africa, of which the population
gives little attention to agriculture. The four millions of
Egyptians who are available for agricultural occupations are
insufficient to do justice to the richness of the soil; but
Chinese labourers would thrive well in Nubia, and would
certainly, in the course of a few years, make the culture of
the land highly remunerative.
Under existing circumstances there can be no ameliora-
tion in the condition of the Egyptian States, until the
slave-trade is not only held in check at its sources, but
also stopped at its outlets. This can only be effected by
the rich people resigning their slaves and replacing them
by paid servants ; the change would doubtless involve many
in a large expense, for they would be still obliged to main-
tain their former slaves, the greater part of whom would
refuse to leave their masters; still a great step would be
gained if a law could be passed to give all slaves the right
of demanding payment for their services ; such a measure
THE VICEROY OF EGYPT. 441
would have the* effect of putting a limit to the number of
slaves that are kept, and by forcing the masters to demand
more work from them, would have a tendency to rouse the
Orientals from their humdrum ways. As long as a man
retains his slaves as such, there is nothing to prevent him
from making fresh purchases, so that any other measure
than that which I have described would be so much trouble
lost.
That there is any assistance to be expected, under the
circumstances, from the Khedive, is quite a delusion. It
is commonly supposed that the ruler of Egypt is a despot
of the purest Avater ; this, however, is a great mistake. In
many respects the Egyptian Government is extremely mild ;
criminals and officials who have been remiss in their duty
are rarely severely punished, and the only delinquency that
it will not overlook is the refusal to pay taxes; and even
here matters would not b6 so bad, if it were not that the
disorderly administration involves the officials in making
encroaching demands. The Viceroy has little power over
the higher authorities, who manage to sneak behind the
Crescent of Stamboul ; he is no more than a Viceroy ; the
liigh-soundiug Persian title of Khedive which he assumes
is in reality no more than a title. He can only issue his
orders, and then all boats that come down the White Nile
are confiscated; and in Khartoom especially, where it is
good policy to make a stir in the eyes of the European
residents, all kinds of repressive measures are proposed;
in displaying their zeal hi the cause, the authorities often
commit acts of the greatest injustice, and jMohammedans
sometimes find their wives and families sequestrated as
slaves, merely because they happen to be black. Such
proceedings afford a fine opportunity for the subordinate
officials to make a harvest out of the injured people by
extorting ransom-money, and by making other extortionate
demands. I can myself bear witness that several of my
442 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
servants were deprived of their wives and children and put
into chains, and I had to write to the Minister, and accom-
pany the people to Cairo myself, before I could get justice
done to them and their rights restored ; and all this .was
only for the purpose of throwing dust in my eyes and
inducing me to report upon the wonderful energy displayed
by the local government in Khartoom.
But meantime, the caravans iind their way just the same
as ever through Darfoor and Ivordofan to Don go! a and
Siout, and still they are brought from Abyssinia through
Gallabat to the Bed Sea, and no one sees them but the
traveller. In Kordofan, where there is a resident Egyptian
Governor, the trade is truly enormous, and there is now
as well the slave-trade from Darfoor. Siout, the common
termination of the roads, is the only place where this trade
can be cut off, and that could only be effected by the
heaviest sacrifices for the commerce of Egypt. The con-
quest of Darfoor by the Egyptians would consequently Ije
a great step in advance ; but I most emphatically protest
against Ismail Pasha being allowed to send Turkish troops
into the heathen negro-countries, for it may literally be said
that "where they have been, no grass will grow." The
kindest thing that the enlightened ruler of Egypt can do
for these lands is to leave them alone ; they are not pro-
ductive, and if they were, they are too far from the
navigable rivers to make any of their products that are in
less demand than ivorv of anv mercantile value.
.CHAPTEE XXIV.
Tidings of war. Two months' hunting. Yolo antelopes. Eeed-rats. Habits
of the Aulacodus. River oysters. Soliman's arrival. Advancing season.
Execution of a rebel. Return to Ghattas's Seriba. Disgusting population.
Allagabo. Alarm of fire. Strange evolutions of hartebeests. Nubian
cattle raids. Traitors among the natives. Remains of Sliol's huts. Lepers
and slaves. Ambiguous slave-trading. Down the Gazelle. The Baloeniceps
again. Dying hippopotamus. Invocation of saints. Disturbance at night.
False alarm. Taken in tow. The Mudir's camp. Crowded boats. Con-
fiscation of slaves. Surprise in Fashoda. Slave caravans on the bank.
Arrival in Khartoom. Telegram to Berlin. Seizure of my servants.
Remonstrance with the Pasha. Mortality in the fever season. Tikki-
tikki's death. &d\aTTa, BaXarra.
The first boats had reached the Meshera early in the year,
and the number of soldiers in the Seriba kept continually
increasing by the arrival of fresh contingents from Khartoom.
The firms of Ghattas and Kurshook Ali seemed both to have
a sharp look-out for business, for one of them had collected
forty and the other seventy-eight fresh idlers as recruits.
Their arrival gave new life to the Seribas ; friends and rela-
tives who had not met for years exchanged greetings and
recounted mutual experiences, whilst news from. Khartoom
was eagerly circulated and as eagerly received.
For myself there was a collection of little notes sent by a
friend at Khartoom that could not do otherwise than excite
my keenest interest. They were six months old, but not the
less on that account did they stimulate my curiosity : in
them I read, in sentences that were almost as crisp and brief
as telegrams, of the startling events of the previous autumn.
Naturally I turned to my letters from home, hoping to gather
444 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
further particulars of the strange occurrences that had thus
been partially unfolded, but I found that these letters had
all been written a year ago, whilst peace still prevailed
thi'oughout Europe, and that they only referred to ordinary
and commonplace topics. So incomplete, therefore, were the
intimations that I received of all that had transpired since
November 1869, that the events all remained an enigma to
me which I could very imperfectly comprehend. It is true
that I had come across slave-traders in the west who had
recently arrived overland from Khartoom, and who had plenty
to tell of what was going on in the Soudan, but not a syllable
fell from their lips about the great war of the Franks, for
who besides myself was interested in the least in the fall of
the Emperor of the French, or who cared either to hear or
to relate the victories of the Germans ? Although when I
visited Khartoom many months had elapsed since the fall of
Magdala, yet near as it was to the seat of war, the intelli-
gence of the Abyssinian campaign even then had scarcely
reached the town.
Meagre as were the details of my latest intelligence, it
may be imagined that they roused me to the greatest excite-
ment, so that it was with the most feverish expectation that
I awaited the arrival of a son of Kurshook Ali, who would
bring definite tidings as to whether there was peace or war
in Europe.
As it had been my intention to return home immediately
after my Niam-niam tour, I had given no orders in the
previous year for any quantity of fresh stores to be sent me
from Khartoom ; consequently the boats that now arrived
had brought me nothing beyond the few articles that I knew
would be necessary on my passage down the river; these
inconsiderable things, meanwhile, had been left at the
Keshera; but after the hardships of the last few months,
I felt that the possession of the merest trifles would be an
incalculable boon to me. Pending the arrival of this little
ANTELOPE-HUNTING. 445
addition to my present means, I had still to endure some
weeks of poverty ; then for a short period after receiving it
I enjoyed a brief season of comparative comfort until once
more, when the scanty stock was exhausted, I relapsed for
the rest of my sojourn in the country into a state of des-
titution more distressing than ever.
The two months that I spent in Khalil's huts were passed
almost entirely in hunting. Not only was the abundance of
game about the valley of the Dyoor a great inducement to
sport, but such was my nervous condition that continual
exertion was the only thing that made my life endurable.
I found walking to be the best antidote to depression and
the most effectual remedy for headache and languor; and
it was only during the hours that I passed in the wilderness
that any of my former energy returned. Whenever I found
myseK within the walls of my hut I was conscious of nothing
but weariness and dejection and was only tit for lounging on
my bed ; it was but rarely that my love of sketching from
nature in any degree diverted me or gave me its wonted
amusement.
Khalil had lent me a capital gun, a weapon specially suited
for antelope-shooting, that did me good service. During the
months of March and April I brought down as many as five-
and-twenty head of the larger kinds of game, including
amongst them specimens of nearly all the different species
of antelopes that the fauna of the country could boast. The
number of caama and leucotis antelopes appeared little short
of inexhaustible. The flesh of the leucotis served as a sub-
stitute for beef and mutton, both of which at that time were
exceedingly scarce in all the Seribas. I had no butter or
lard of any description, but the meat was very palatable
when simply boiled in water. The lean goats' meat, with its
soapy flavom', was the only alternative, and that after awhile
became utterly loathsome to me. For a long time I had
had no vegetables at my meals, and indeed for months I had
446 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
lived without any vegetable diet at all with the exception of
some sorghum cakes.
During this period I met with an antelope (A. arundinacea)
of a species that I had never seen before. The Bongo called
it " yolo," and although it appeared to me to differ from the
leucotis merely by having horns of about one-third the length,,
the natives insisted that it was quite distinct ; upon closer
investigation I could not help acknowledging that the people
were right, and that several marks of distinction did really
exist : in the first place, the head of the " yolo " is all of one
colour ; in the next, it is deficient in the black stripe along
the hind leg which i^ always seen in the leucotis ; and the
lower joints in the hind legs are never black, but of the same
brown colour as the rest of the body. Again, the two animals
are distinguished by their habit, for while the " yolos " are
found only in pairs frequenting the bush forests in the vicinity
of the rivers, the leucotis are observed in groups (sometimes
even in large herds of several dozen), and haunt, not the
forests, but the open valleys through which the rivers flow.
It was highly interesting to notice the keen accuracy with
which the instinct of the natives had taught them to dis-
criminate between species of which the general resemblances
were so predominating ; the droppings of the animals as they
move from place to place are quite sufficient to enable these
observers of nature to distinguish one kind of antelope from
another.
I was informed that the end of February was the best
time of the year for hunting reed-rats [Aulacodus Sivinderi-
anus). Accordingly one day I arranged an excursion to the
Dyoor, and engaging a number of natives who were used to
the sport to bring their lances and to beat up the game, I
set off under their guidance to the spot that they considered
the most promising. At that season of the year, when all the
grass was so thoroughly dry, it did not seem as though it
could be a matter of much difficulty to kill almost unlimited
HUNTING REED-RATS.
447
numbers of these reed-rats, if only they could be got at ; and
so in fact it proved : in the course of the day we killed no
less than ten, but nearly all of them were so damaged by
the merciless use of the lances or by the teeth of the dogs
that they were of iao use at all for any scientific purpose.
The method of hunting, it must be confessed, is somewhat
rough. As soon as a spot is discovered frequented by the
animals, a ring of the tall grass is set alight, so that escape
Hunting reed-rats.
is rendered impossible, and every one of the poor brutes
within the circle of flame is compelled to show itself. The
reed-rats invariably keep in concealment until the very last
moment, and when finally they make an attempt to escape
they get their feet so scorched and their coats so singed
that it is very difficult to secure a perfect specimen ; they
are in this respect like the wild hares of the deserts, which
are subject to the delusion that however close at hand their
448 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
pursuers may be, they may still be safe by remaining quiet
in their hiding-places ; as soon as they are obliged to quit
them they get killed by stones and clubs. In many parts
where the grass that had survived the steppe-burning was
unusually thick, the Dyoor had only to thrust in their spears
at random and they had every chance of spearing one of the
reed-rats. The case is pretty much the same in the various
pools full of fish left by the subsidence of the river.
The Aulacodus finds a habitat in all the tropical regions
of the continent ; it is ordinarily found in the neighbourhood
of brooks and rivers, burying itself in deep holes amidst the
reeds ; when, however, it is in search of its food it will wander
away to a considerable distance from its place of concealment,
and thus allow the hunters a chance of killing it. The larger
rivers are the natural channels for the wanderings of the
creature, its movements in the water being assisted by its
hind feet being furnished with webs ; but these webs, it is to
be observed, are not perfectly developed ; they do not stretch
across from toe to toe in straight lines, but go in curves that
vary considerably in their stretch. On account of this pecu-
liarity Th. von Heuglin has suggested that the reed-rat found
on the Gazelle River should be classified as A. semipalmatus,
to distinguish it from the species of the Zambesi and Gambia,
which is entirely wanting in the webbed foot.
A full-grown reed-rat is never less than twenty inches in
length, but a third of this must be assigned to the rat-like
tail, Avhich is coated over with thin hair, nearly black on the
top and light grey underneath. The snout, throat, breast,
and belly are covered with hair almost as prickly as the
bristles of a young hedgehog, light grey in colour ; on the
back and sides the colour is shaded down to a brownish hue,
that is to say, the grey hairs are tipped with a lightish tan-
brown. In February the half-grown animals shed their
bristles and acquire an entirely new coat. The skin is about
an eighth of an inch thick, but is quite soft, and may
THE FAR-EL-BOOS.
449
easily be torn ; it is lined w itli a uniform layer of fat. The
meat is excellent wlien roasted ; it is rich, and without being
sweet and insipid like that of the rock rabbit, it is free from
any unpleasant flavour; in quality it is about equal to poultry,
whilst in taste it may be described as being intermediate
between veal and pork. As a cloven-footed animal, without
horns and non-ruminant, the Nubians of course consider it
Far-el-boos. (Aulacodus Sk indcriunus.')
to be unclean ; but the Mohammedans of the stepjies and
deserts are not so scrnpulous; to the Baggara and the
Foorip.ns a roast reed-rat is as great a delicacy as a haie is
to the Bishareen and Hadendoa. Amongst Ihe natives of
the Nubian towns and Nile-valley the Far-el-boos (as the
reed-rat is called in Arabic) gives rise to a good deal of
mutual banter, and in times of deartli they jocosely charge
one another with eating reed-rats on the sly.
The food of the Aulacodus consists, 1 believe, of the
450 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
aromatic rhizomes of certain kinds of gi-ass that grow in
the depressions of the rivers ; but as I only judge from the
green finely-minced particles that were contained in the
stomach, I am unable to speak positively on this point.
The natives esteem the contents of the stomach as a special
delicacy ; and my dogs, that were generally dainty enough
to reject rats and mice, greedily devoured all the entrails.
Tikkitikki, armed with his bow and arrows, was an eager
participator in our sport. He declared that reed-rats are
never found in the land of the Monbuttoo, but are per-
fectly well known to all the Niam-niam, who call them
"remooh," or "alimooh." In common with many other
Africans, the Niam-niam often adopt the practice of
burying their stores of ivory (either as a protection from
the disasters of war or from the chance of fire) in the
damp soil of the swamps, which are the haunts of the
Aulacodus; the ivory forms just the substance that meets
the requirements of the animal for sharpening and grinding
down its front teeth, and consequently gets gnawed in every
direction.
Khalil required 300 bearers to convey his stores from
the Meshera, but as these could not be collected in a day,
and as the prevailing scarcity made it impossible to main-
tain any others beyond the soldiers that were already in
the Seribas, the new-comers were turned out to pick up
what they could for themselves from amongst the neigh-
bouring Dinka until the entire troop could be got together.
A good many days elapsed before the great caravan was
complete; and, in the meantime, the soldiers who had
already started were having continual conflicts with the
Dinka, who were resolved not to part with their corn
without a struggle.
On the 4th of March 200 of Ghattas's Bongo bearers
arrived at the Seriba on their way to carry com to the
Turkish camp. All their loads put together would hardly
DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSPORT. 451
have amounted to twenty ardebs. Hopelessly stupid are
the people ; it roused my indignation ' to think how, in
spite of the hard and level roads that were established
during the dry season, they had never introduced a single
vehicle of any description into the country. Thirty hand-
barrows or three bullock-waggons would have amply sufficed
to convey the \\hole of the corn, and yet they employed
these 200 bearers, who, during the twenty-four days that
they would be on their journey to their destination and back,
would, at the very lowest computation, consume as much as
forty ardebs of durra, just double the quantity they had to
deliver. The extortions of the Government are thus, in
the course of the year, three or four times as great as
they need be ; the troops may require some 600 ardebs
of corn, but in procuring this, at least another 600 ardebs
would be wasted, to say nothing about the reckless and
lavish expenditure of time and strength which is thrown
away upon the proceedings. I cannot help repeating these
details, in order to show to what a senseless system of
robbery these negro-countries are exposed as soon as ever
they come withiu the grasp of Mohammedan rule.
In March the natives employ themselves in h'shing.
Towards the middle of the month the numerous back-
waters and s\N amp channels that have b.een left by the
Dyoor are separated into independent basins by means of
dams, that may be seen thrown up in all directions across
the intricate ramifications of the water ; when these basins
have been thoroughly drained, the fish are left lying above,
or just embedded in the mud and slime, and may easily be
taken with the hand. All the inhabitants of the district
were in some measure concerned in the fishing of the
Dyoor, and it afforded me a pleasant diversion, when I was
out on my hunting-excursions, to stop awhile and watch
the artifices by which they contrive to entrap the fish.
At the part of the river which, being deep, was frequented
Vol. II.— 31
452 THE EEAET OF AFEICA,
by hippopotamuses, the right-hand bank was more than
fifteen feet high, and rose perpendicularly from the water ;
the upper section of the soil of the bank was a ferruginous
clay which went down to a depth of eight feet, below which
was a broad white stripe some four feet thick, resting upon
the gneiss that apparently was the substratum of the entire
alluvium of the river-valley. The white stripe of the soil
had a chalky look, and contained fragments of quartz; it
consisted of a crumbling product of felspar, such as may
frequently be seen, under similar circumstances, in the
hollows of other river-courses and brooks throughout the
country.
In all parts of the dry sandy bed may be found the shells
of the river-oyster (Etheria CaiUiaudii), which is wanting
in none of the affluents of the Upper Nile, and is known
to the Niam-niam as the " mohperre." In the deeper parts
of the bed of the Dyoor these oysters exist in groups,
adhering firmly to blocks of swamp-ore that, having become
detached from the top of the banks, have fallen into the
river, and so are permanently under water. While the
Etheria is young, the shell is almost circular, but as it
increases in age, it becomes elongated and irregular, and
occasionally attains the extraordinary length of eighteen
inches. The flavour of this moUusk is rather sweet and
mawkish, and to me pal'ticularly unpleasant.
On the 20th, my temporary abode was very consider-
ably enlivened by the arrival of Soliman, the owner
of the Seriba, the eldest son of the late Kurshook Ali.
He was quite a young man, and entirely inexperienced in
the management of the extensive property that he had
recently inherited from his father. It is matter of notoriety
that whenever an Oriental proceeds on his travels he takes
a large supply of his luxuries with him; thus it happens
that his valuable baggage, consisting of clothes, weapons, and
harness, as well as his horses, makes it especially worth
SOLIMAN. 453
while to waylay him and plunder him of his wealth. From
this disaster Kurshook Ali had been spared during his life,
but no sooner was he dead than, as I have already had
occasion to mention, his successor in office appropriated all
his effects and proceeded to dispose of them in the open
market to the best bidders. It was on this account that
the son of the deceased Sandjak had been induced to under-
take this laborious journey in person, and he arrived at the
Seriba with the double purpose of saving whatever residue
there might be of his father's property and of exacting an
account from Ahmed Aga of what already had been sold.
With much pleasure I still remember my first meeting
with Soliman, and can yet recall the eager curiosity with
which I turned the conversation to the position of the
European Powers. As he was the chief of a great mer-
cantile firm, and consequently associated with the more
educated class of Khartoomers^ I quite hoped that he would
be able to give me some decisive political intelligence ; but
all the information that I could obtain from him was that
when he left Khartoom in January, no announcement of
peace had reached that town.
Old Khalil, who had never been out of the negro-countries
for fifteen years, was just as ignorant of political matters as
the lowest of his countrymen ; not only had he to ask what
was the name of the Governor-General of Khartoom, but
he seemed to be quite unconscious that Egypt was in any
degree an independent country. Most of the people were
quite unacquainted with the name of the Khedive in power,
and I heard some of them ask what the Pasha was called in
Cairo ; of one thing, however, they said they were perfectly
sure, namely, that Abdul Aziz was the sovereign who ruled
over all the believers, and that all the kings of the Franks
were his vassals ; it was true, they confessed, that the
Emperor of Moscow, some years ago, had the audacity to
pretend that he was independent; but now, thanks to the
154 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
fidelity of the great Sultan's vassals, he was very glad to eat
humble-pie, just as it had happened before with Buonaparte,
the " Sultan-el-Kebir."
Such was the ignorance of the Soudanese; and the few
sentences that I have recorded will serve for an epitome of
their political knowledge. When they heard me talking to
Soliman about peace and war in the land of the Franks,
they wanted to learn what sort of people the Prussians (the
" Borusli ") were. Soliman answered them with the greatesf
naivete. He described Prussia as a " country with very fe\i
people," meaning to imply that it was about the smallest
of the great Powers. "And have these few people," they
went on to inquire, " made the great Emperor of the
Franks a prisoner? Do you mean that they have taken
the Emperor, whose likeness is stamped on all the gold
money ? " "0 yes," answered Soliman, " he was a big
rascal; and heaven has rewarded him according to his
deserts."
It was on the 30th of March that the people arrived from
the Meshera, and no one can tell how delighted I was to
get the few stores that had been sent me from Khartoom.
Provided as I was with a new stock of paper, I again set
about my botanical work which had so long been suspended,
and renewed my investigations with redoubled ardour; it
was the opening of the third spring-tide in which it had
been my singular happiness to gather the tribute of Central
Africa to lay upon the altar of science. The period of my
return to Europe was getting near, and I was eager to
make a collection of all the bulbs and tubers that I could ;
I was very careful to dig them up before they had thrown
out any of their fresh shoots, and was very successful in
procui-ing a large number, which I deposited in Berlin in
a state of perfect vitality; amongst them were many rare
plants, and particularly some specimens of the Oycadese from
the countiy of the Niam-niam. In consequence, however.
METEOROLOGICAL EVENTS. 455
either of the defective construction of the plant-houses,
or of the inexperience of the gardeners, many of these
subsequently died.
The meteorological events of 1871 deviated in some
degree from their normal rule. The seasons were not at
all sharply defined, as they had been in the two preceding
years. Throughout March there was a perpetual struggle
between directly contrary winds; first the north-east wind
contended violently with the south-east wind, and only
desisted to commence a conflict just as furious with the
south-west. About the middle of the month the days were
extremely hot, and the dominant north-east wind raged with
almost the intensity of a simoom, that threatened to convert
the land into a desert. On two separate days there were
some slight showers, but the first heavy rain was that which
fell on the 31st. In April there were six slight Mis, and
four very heavy falls, of rain, the south-west wind being
generally prevalent, although there were several days when
the rude, rough Boreas still sturggled vehemently for the
mastery. In May there were five showery days and three
that were thoroughly wet.
The reappearance, for the first time, of various plants and
animals marked, as it were, the separate stages of the
advancing season, and prompted me to make a sort of
farmer's calendar of the different events. It was on the
16th that the wind suddenly veered to the south-east and
some drops of rain fell, the first that had occurred since the
passing shower on the 11th of February. The direction of
the wind seemed now to be settleil, and in the course of the
night I heard a cricket chirping on the grass. Before many
days had past the cicadas put in an appearance, and in the
middle of the day the air resounded with their shrill tones,
clear almost as the ring of metal. At the beginning of
April the humidity of the atmosphere rapidly increased,
whilst the heat remained intense, the average temperature
456 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
being not less than 81° Fahr. This unhealthy concurrence
of hot atmosphere with damp had the effect of bringing out
an angry eruption all over ray body, causing an irritation so
violent that ray rest at night was completely destroyed.
Heat and moisture together are never beneficial to the
health, except there is a complete protection from the chance
of taking cold.
The 3rd of April, three days after the first decidedly heavy
rain, is noted in my register as being the first day upon
which the floor of my hut was covered with those uncomfort-
able visitors which never wait for a welcome ; I mean par-
ticularly those strange Arachnidse, the Galeodes (or scoi'pion-
spiders), with their great venomous mandibles, and the whole
family of scorpions proper. My poor negroes were terribly
punished by them, and from head to foot there was not a
portion of their body that enjoyed immunity from their
attacks. It was after a very heavy rainfall that, on 'the
evening of the 18th, I saw the first winged white ants (sexual
males) issue from the clay pyramid of their " gontoor."
Towards the middle of the month the stores of corn were
so nearly exhausted that Khalil was obliged to decline
showing any hospitality to the Gellahbas that passed through
the Seriba. Soliman himself was compelled to quit the
place, and lu's old Vokeel took a trip to his Bongo Seribas
to gather together what additional supplies he could. For
myself, I was suffering privation almost as severe as I had
endured in the previous May upon the shores of the Nabam-
bisso, on some days being unable to obtain a single handful
of durra-corn ; still, distressing as my condition was, I could
not at once make up my mind to retrace my steps to
Ghattas's head Seriba. I was quite aware that I should
be better off there for provisions than anywhere else, but the
disaster of the 2nd of December had left such an impression
upon my mind that the very name of the place was hateful
to me ; and I felt that I should for my own part much prefer
AN EXECUTION. 457
to drag out four months in a starving Seriba and a barren
wilderness, rather than to enjoy meat and milk at the cost
of residing amidst the scenes of my disappointment and
misfortune.
One day, just about this time, a former Bongo chief, who
had escaped to the mountains on the southern frontier,
having been captured after 'a long pursuit, Avas brought back
by Kurshook All's people to the Seriba. He had clandes-
tinely murdered many of the Nubians, and had instigated
the natives to revolt against their conquerors. His con-
demnation and execution now followed forthwith. I heard
nothing of the matter until it was all over, but my negroes,
who had been witnesses of the whole proceeding, gave it as
their opinion that the punishment was well-deserved. They
described to me the mode of carrying out the sentence. The
delinquent, they said, had been taken out a considerable
distance into the forest, dragging after him a long sheyba
that was fastened to his neck ; all at once he had been felled
to the ground by a tremendous blow, directed just below the
knees, from one of those huge swords four feet long that
have been made for centuries at Solingen near Diisseldorf.
and are still manufactured for the especial use of the African
Bedouins and Arabs ; two more heavy blows had then cut
off his arms ; and last of all, the attack had been levelled at
his head, which was hacked, rather than cleanly severed, from
his body.
There are always to be found in this country those who
are singularly dexterous in the use of the swords that I have
mentioned. They use them for performing amputations in
their own barbarous way. If mortification from an ulcer or
any other cause seems to be setting in, so that a hand or a
foot is deemed incurable, the limb is fastened to a block of
wood, and with one blow of the sword the part affected is
severed almost within a hair's breadth of the part that is
sound. Instances far from unfrequent have been known
458 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
where tlie sufferers have had the fortitude to perform the
operation, hazardous as it is, upou themselves. The custom
is of great antiquity amongst the Arabs, and probably is not
to be disassociated from the ancient Gospel precept, " If thy
right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee."
Eeluctaut as I was, I iound myself compelled at last to
yield to the urgent solicitations of my hungry Bongo and to
set off for Ghattas's Seriba. We started on the 21st. We
found the Dyoor, which had risen during the last few days,
somewhat subsiding again, but the whole breadth of the bed
was still covered with water, although only two and a half
feet deep; in the two previous years it had not begun to rise
until a fortnight later. Aboo Guroon's Seriba was just in
the same miserable condition of want as the district we had
left, and we found the natives eagerly engaged in collecting
the bitter berries of certain kinds of the Capparideee, of which,
after soaking them repeatedly in boiling water, they manage
to make a sort of pap. The berry of the Boxia oetandra is
likewise used for a similar purpose, having been first dried
in the sun to remove the astringent cotyledons and then
pounded in a mortar.
As we' continued our journey, we could not be otherwise
than surprised at the large flocks of maraboo-storks that we
saw congregated amidst the burnt grass in the low steppes
adjacent to the bed of the Molmul : most probably they were
searching for the bodies of the snakes, lizards, and mice that
had been killed in the recent conflagration.
With the 4th of May came the commencement of the
general sowing of the crops ; men's hearts revived, and they
began to anticipate happier times.
Ghattas's granaries still contained some corn ; and a small
number of cattle, the residue of his once enormous herds,
was yet to be seen in his farmyard. But in spite of my
sense of these material comforts, the crowded Seriba was
most repulsive to me : changed indeed it was in a way ; but
MISERY AND DIRT. 459
in its essential character it had remained true to its old
composition. Certain it was that the swarms of rats that
had infested the huts and undermined the soil had been all
but exterminated by the fire ; the crowds of red-headed
lizards (Agamas) that used to frisk up and down the old
rotten palisade were no louger to be seen ; the horned beetles
{Scarahseus nasicornus) and their grubs that had once covered
every dung-heap were totally annihilated ; it was man alone
who was unchanged, and the same revolting forms, infected
with syphilis, scabs, and boils were spreading their putrid
miasma around. Tottering along betwixt the crooked, tumble-
down straw hedges and amidst the heaps of garbage and
of refuse might still be seen the wretched fever-stricken
beings, with sliorn heads covered with . scabs and every limb
a mass of festering matter ; everywhere prevailed the
moaning and groaning of a lingering death ; the people were
not so much what they were accustomed to call themselves
and each other in their curses, " dogs and the sons of dogs,"
they were rather sons of dirt, born and bred in an atmo-
sphere of abscess and corruption.
I found my former garden ragged and barren as a wilder-
ness ; the only surviving memorials of what it had been were
the tomatoes flourishing persistently upon the fertile soil,
and the sunflowers that gloried in the tropical sun. Some
of the sunflowers rose in great pyramids of foliage to a
height of over ten feet, and with their huge disks of blossoms
ever turned towards" the lull glare of light, presented an
appearance that was very striking. In this strange world
their splendour could not but irresistibly attract me, and 1
often sat down on the ground before them, and while gazing
on their brightness recalled the fading memories of the past
and conjured up anew the recollections of my distant travels,
looking back upon the scenes I had passed, as a traveller
looking through the back window of his carriage might take
a retrospect of the country he had left beliind.
4(S0 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
In order to obtain a short reprieve from my melancholy
and unpleasant surroundings and to finish up with a few days'
quiet enjoyment of nature, I resolved, towards the end of
May, to take a farewell trip to Geer, and so to pay a parting
visit to the Bongo. I had become quite attached to this
people, and had determined to take a young Bongo boy back
with me to Europe. My new protege was named Allagabo.*
He seemed to me to be sharper and quicker in ability than
many of his race, even of those who were considerably older
than himself; and I intended him accordingly to be properly
educated ; his family lived in Geer, and whilst I was there
I received various visits from his father, uncle, and aunt, to
all of whom I made what presents I could, and immortalised
them in my portfolio. They no longer exercised any right
over Allagabo, as he had been .stolen from his home a long
time before by the Dinka, and disposed of by them to the
controller of the Seriba in exchange for some cattle ; the boy's
good fortune was quite a matter of congratulation to his
relatives, as they were fully convinced he would lead a much
happier life with me than he -could possibly expect in his
savage home. His mother, some years previously, after one
of the regular cattle-exchanges, had been carried off as a
slave to Khartoom ; she was the only one of his relations
for whom Allagabo had any yearning, and later, when he had
grown accustomed to his European life and begun to confide
in me, he used to tell me that the image of his mother
haunted him in his dreams and hovered over him with tears
in her eyes. I made many inquiries for her in Khartoom,
but never succeeded in learning anything about her. For
his father, Allagabo had little affection or respect. When
I was making presents I had noticed that he was always
urging me to hand my gifts by preference to his uncle,
* Allagabo is the Arabic rendering of the Greek Tlieodoro (gift of God);
by the Dinka the lad was called " Teem," i.e. " a tree," because his native
name was " Lebbe," which i.-< tlie Bongo wor-1 for a species of mimosa.
i!||iil
^^:
'J^-
~i
462 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Ghattas, was making a tour amongst the eastern Seribas of
the Kohl, and intended very shortly to come on to us. To
me tlie information was very opportune, as it gave me a
handle, which I did not fail to use, to. induce Idrees, our
controller, to hurry on his movements in my behalf. I
made liim understand how much worse it would be for him
if Abdel Mesih should arrive before I had taken my de-
parture ; for most certainly if I had the chance I should
report upon the negligence that had caused the burning-
down of the Seriba, and should demand compensation for all
my losses. The consequences, I warned him, would be that
his master would at once remove him from his post, and that
he would have to go back to his place in Khartoom a poor
beggarly slave. My threats answered their purpose admi-
rably ; they put Idrees into a frightful state of alarm ; he
lost no time in pushing matters forward, and on the 4th of
June everything was ready for the march to the Meshera.
Our party consisted of fifty soldiers and rather more thar
300 bearers. We started along our former road to the
north-east, through the low-lying country of the Dinka,
which I had previously traversed during the month of
March ; but so advanced was the season now that the whole
region presented quite a new aspect. Bulbous plants ol
every variety shed their enlivening hues over the splendid
plains, which were adorned by noble trees, park-like in their
groupings. There was a descent in the land, but it was
scarcely perceptible. We were only aware that we were
approaching the limits of the rocky soil, when, on emerging
from the bush, we saw stretching far before us the first
great steppe that marked the commencement of the Dinka
country. Scattered at intervals over the plain were some
very remarkable groves. These were not only singularly
compact, but their outline was as sharply defined as if it
had been drawn by compasses, each cluster seeming to form
itself around some unusually tall tree that was a common
THE DINKA COUNTRY. 463
centre for the rest. The fantastic forms of tlie wild
Phoenix and the candelabra-Euphorbia were the most
conspicuous amidst these striking groups.
Our jSrst night-camp was pitched at a deserted niurah
belonging to the Ayarr tribe. The deep holes that re-
mained where wells had formerly been sunk, allowed us to
make a very interesting inspection of the character of the
soil; we had advanced exactly 7000 paces from the ex-
tremity of the rock, and on looking into the holes I could
see that the ferruginous swamp-ore was here covered by a
homogeneous layer of grey sandy soil, ten feet in thickness.
These steppes are scarcely at all above the level of the
Gazelle,* and, consequently, from July to the end of the
rainy season they are constantly under water ; traces of the
inundation were apparent in the empty shells of the water-
snail (AmpuUaria) that were scattered about, and in the
pools I found some of the little tortoises {Pelomedusa gehafie,
Eiipp.) that have their home in the Gazelle itself.
On the following day we crossed the territory of the
Dwuihr; the country retained the same character of level
steppe broken by clumps of trees, but in consequence of the
recent showers the roads in parts had become quite marshy
There were many detached huts scattered about.
As we advanced, our attention was attracted by a herd of
hartebeests sporting together scarcely 500 paces from our
path, and apparently quite unconscious of the proximity of a
caravan nearly half a league in length. So regular were
their evolutions as almost to suggest the idea that they were
being guided by some invisible hand; they ran in coupler
like the horses in a circus, and kept going round and round
a clump of trees, whilst the others stood in groups of three
* The barometer gave an altitude of 1396 feet here, and about the same at
two other points on our route to the Me&hura, but as these were only singk-
readings I cannot vouch for their accuracy. Readings at the Meshera taken
in 1869, and repeated in 1871, gave 1452 feet as the lieight there.
464 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
or four intently watching them ; after a time these in turn
took their place, and, two at a time, ran their own circuit in
the same fashion. How long these movements might have
continued, I cannot say ; but my dogs soon afterwards made
a dash in amongst the antelopes and sent them flying in all
directions. The circumstance that I have now related may
ap[)ear somewhat incredible ; but I can only say that I had
ample time to witness it, and that I was as much surprised
at it as my readers can possibly be. I can only imagine, in
explanation, that it was pairing-time, and that the animals
were blind to all external danger.
I remembered that I had witnessed something similar,
three months previously, upon the Dyoor. A party of three
of us were rambling over a plain covered with short grass,
when we saw two little Hegoleh-bocks (A. Madoqua) chasing
each other upon one side of us ; they kept up that peculiar
grunting that belongs to their kind ; a moment after, and
they were on the other side of us ; in another moment they
were back again; and by watching them we found that
they kept making a circle round the spot on which we
were standing, and, although we shouted and tried to scare
them, they persisted in twice more performing their circuit
about us.
Our next task was to cross a swampy brook overgrown
with the Habbas-mimosa, and the Bongo bearers made a
diversion in the day's proceedings by instituting a hattue in
the long steppe-grass in which they succeeded in killing
four ichneumons.
The following section of our march was through bush-
thickets abundant in pools ; and, to judge by the numerous
traces that we noticed, it must have been a district that was
much frequented by elephants.
The ever-recurring swamps seriously impeded our third
morning's march, which was across the forest of the Alwady.
The first villages that we reached belonged to the district of
A CATTLE-RAID. 465
Teng Teng; here we deviated from the road that led
directly towards the Meshera, and turned eastwards through
more populous parts, hoping that provisions might be
foraged up with less difficulty for the large troop of bearers.
The natives, according to their wont, withdrew as we ap-
proached, so that, although the region was really well culti-
vated and thoroughly inhabited, it was now quite deserted :
and the large murah belonging to a Dinka chief named Dal
Kurdyook was reduced to a condition hardly better than a
wilderness, except that the well-kept soil was covered with
some hundreds of the great wooden pegs that are used for
tethering the cattle.
Hardly was the baggage down from off the bearers' backs
before the command was issued for a cattle-raid. Off and
away was every one who had arms to carry. Unless meat
could be had, the bearers must starve. There was no
corn left ; and as to grubbing in the earth for roots, the
days' journeys were far too arduous to permit any extra
fatigue for such a purpose. Meat must be got.
It was a strange sensation, and sufficiently unpleasant, to
find myself left alone with my few helpless servants in the
deserted murah; the Dinka might fall upon us at any
moment; and against their thousands what chance had
we ? In the course, however, of little more than an hour
my suspense was at an end. The marauders had made good
use of their time, and now came back in triumph with
fifteen cows and 200 sheep and goats. The leader of the
band had the reputation of being one of the most adroit
hands at cattle-stealing that the Khartoom companies had
ever had in their service, seeming to put his party, almost
by iustinct, upon the right track for securing their prey.
His experience made him quite aware that the bulk of the
herds had all been cleared far away from the murahs and
despatched to the most inaccessible of the swamps of the
Tondy ; they had had twenty-four hours' start, and it was
Vol. II.— 32
466 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
useless for a caravan, with its own baggage to look after,
to think of going in pursuit of them. Still, one thing was
certain ; although all the large herds were gone, yet there
must have been cows with their calves that were left behind
for the support of the households that were in hiding close
in the neighbourhood ; against these the plot was laid, and
succeeded by a very simple stratagem. The marauders
marched out a little way to the south, turned short off into
the forest, and then, having arranged themselves in a semi-
circle embracing the murah, proceeded in unbroken line
right through the bush, driving everything before them. The
result was, that within half a league of the place of encamp-
ment the whole of the reserve of Dal Kurdyook's cows, as
well as other animals, fell into the hands of Ghattas's people.
A portion of the sheep and goats was spared to be driven
onwards with us to the Meshera, but all the rest were slain
and consumed off-hand the very night on which they were
captured. Such a wholesale slaughter, or such a lavish
feasting, as took place in Dal Kurdyook's murah I never
witnessed before or since. When we took our departure on
the following morning the layer of white ashes that covered
the ground was literally dyed with the blood of the victims.
On the fourth day of our march, at a spot near the resi-
dence of Kudy, we re-entered our former road. The country
was alternately wood and cultivated land. It was enlivened
by numerous hamlets, and altogether, although it was neither
rocky nor undulated, it had a general aspect, to which the
detached clumps of trees contributed, not unlike Bongolaud.
Kudy was a Dinka chief, a close ally of Ghattas's ma-
rauders, and one of those characters, not uncommon in
Central Africa, who have gained an inglorious notoriety for
their treachery and infidelity to their own countrymen. How-
he managed to maintain his position in the place after his
confederates had taken their departure, I cannot imagine, as
his authority did not in the least extend beyond the imme-
KUDY AND TAKE. 467
diate vicinity. The incidental meeting of our party with
their ally of course put it into their heads to set out on
another cattle-raid, and Kudy was appointed to the com-
mand. He had only to lead them out for a couple of leagues
to the south-west of his residence to a region where Ghattas
some years ago maintained a Seriba, and the object was
effectually accomplished. Quite early in the day they came
back with an immense number of sheep and goats, and
nearly every bearer had a kid upon his shoulders. The
quantity of corn, however, was very insignificant. Every-
thing was done in the quietest way possible ; there was not
the least excitement. The people were so accustomed to
these raids that the execution of them was quite a matter
of routine.
On the following morning we reached the murah of Take,
another Dinka chief, and while we made a halt our people
effected yet another raid. Just as on the previous day, the
produce in the way of corn was next to nothing, but large
numbers both of goats and sheep were driven in, the whole
of which were killed and cooked forthwith for the benefit of
the soldiers and bearers.
In spite of the good understanding that existed between
the Khartoomers and both these chieftains, every village
throughout the district was utterly deserted, and with the
exception of the families of Take and Kudy themselves
we did not see a single human being.
The march of the sixth day led us through the territory
of the Eek, a district remarkable for its wide sandflats. All
along I had noticed that the pasture-lands were cropped so
closely by the cattle that it might almost be fancied that
they had been mown with a scythe ; but although the grass
was so short, it had, in consequence of the recent rains, a
bright green look that was very refreshing.
Next day at noon we encamped beneath the sycamore
by the wells of Lao. By some misunderstanding my people
468 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
had come to the conclusion that we were to halt here for the
night. Accordingly they unpacked all my things, and I
was about settling myself in an empty hut when the tidings
were told that the caravan had already renewed its march.
By the time that I was again prepared to proceed the whole
train was out of sight, so that under the guidance of a man
who knew the proper route we had to follow in the rear as
rapidly as we could. While we were on our way a violent
storm came up from the west, and, bursting over our heads,
soon put the whole locality under water. To add to our dis-
comfort, our road happened to be through a wood and it was
growing dusk, so that we had to go on stumbling into the
continuous puddles, that were often very deep. In getting
through these places I was at a great disadvantage; my
heavy boots prevented me from keeping up with the light
ambling trot of the natives, as I had constantly to stop and
pull on first one and then the other, as they were half-
dragged off my feet by the tenacious clay. Except a genuine
African traveller, no one could imagine what ponderous
lumps of mud stuck to the soles.
As we toiled along through the miry forest in the thick
of the drenching rain, we were startled by hearing a volley
of firearms in the direction of the caravan. Pitiable as had
been our plight before, we felt it was worse than ever
now; we did not doubt but that the party in advance had
been attacked in retribution by the ill-treated Dinka. With
throbbing hearts we reached the outskirts of the wood, every
moment expecting to catch sight of the enemy who would
cut us off at once from the main procession ; but seeing the
fires burning hospitably in the neighbouring villages we were
soon reassured, and on rejoining our people found that the
sounds that had alarmed us had been caused simply by the
soldiers discharging their guns so that they might not
become foul through the charges getting damp.
Early next day, the eighth of our march, long before
KEMAINS OF SHOL'S VILLAGE. 469
reaching the spot, we saw the tall columns of smoke
rising from the murah of our old friend Kurdyook, the
husband of the murdered Shol, and on approaching had
the satisfaction of surveying the scene, which had long
been strange to us, of a well-filled cattle-park. The very
lowing of the herds was a welcome sound. Kurdyook himself
soon appeared, and expatiated in very bitter terms upon the
lamentable fate of his wife. We passed close to the spot
where her huts had stood, and where our caravan had been
so hospitably entertained on taking leave of her. The great
Kigelia alone remained undisturbed in its glory ; the resi-
dence was a heap of ashes, and there was nothing else to
tell of poor old Shol's former splendour than the strips and
shreds of a great torn spirit-flask.
Very little rain had fallen here. The river had scarcely
risen at all ; we were able consequently to get down with
dry feet to the edge of the Meshera, where, about noon, we
were conveyed across to the little island upon which the
Khartoomers pitched their camp. Between Ghattas's Seriba
and this spot I had counted 216,000 paces, showing that the
entire distance we had walked was about eighty miles.
Except that the island which served for the landing-place
had been completely cleared of trees the general appearance
of the Meshera during the last two and a half years had
undergone little alteration; the growth of the papyrus had
diminished rather than otherwise, and the am batch was still
altogether wanting.
Not only attacks from the neighbouring tribes of the
Afok and Alwady, but continuous outbreaks of cattle-
plague had decimated the herds left by Shol, and there had
been a great scarcity of corn. Boats, however, laden with
durra had arrived from Khartoom, and, as a considerable
portion of it was consigned to me, I availed myself of
the opportunity to start a flourishing business with the
natives, who in exchange for the corn brought me milk
470 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
enough to make into butter. The milk was conveyed to me
in separate bottle-gourds, and in order that I might get five
pounds of butter I had to dole out in small quantities as
much corn as would fill a wine-cask.
Before setting sail I had a good deal of squabbling with
Ghattas's people. I did not want to be brought into the
close quarters which the limits of a boat's deck necessitated
with either lepers or slaves, and protested that if I did not
shoot the first that came on board, I would at least take good
care to report them to the Government. My endeavours in
this way to secure my comfort were very far from being so
successful as I wished, I had previously written to Kur-
shook Ali to engage the same boat which had brought him
into the country to carry me back to Khartoom, making it
an express stipulation that the boat should not convey any
slaves. We had come to terms, and everything was ap-
parently quite settled, when it turned out that the boat
was not going to return until late in the year. To defer
my departure so long was out of the question. Slaves or
no slaves, it was all-important to me to be at Kiartoom as
soon as possible ; and when I found that Ghattas's people
were this year going lo ship only a limited number, I came
to the resolution that, under the circumstances, I would take
my chance with them. I knew that Sir Samuel Baker was
on the Upper Nile, and did not doubt that his presence
would have the effect of making the Government take the
most strenuous measures against any import of slaves. 1
represented as strongly as I could to the people the danger
they were incurring by having such property on board, but
I miglit just as well have remonstrated with the winds. In
spite of all I could say twenty-seven slaves were shipped,
not avowedly as slaves, but so nearly in that capacity as at
once to bring them under suspicion of being destined for
the market. Undesirable as their company was, still I was
thankful to be free from contact with any lepers ; making
MY OWN SLAVES. 47 1
the best, therefore, of an unpleasant business, I went on
board on the afternoon of the 26th of June.
I confess that I felt a little tongue-tied, through not being
myself entirely free from blame. I could not deny that I
had three slaves of my own : these were Tikl^itikki the
Pygmy, Allagabo the Bongo, and Amber the Niam-uiam.
The other Niam-niam youth I left behind in the Seriba,
after having gained him his freedom and seen him duly
admitted into the Mohammedan sect by circumcision, the
only means by which his social position could be secured.
With regard to these lads I profess I had not the least
squeamishness in carrying them away with me, and I felt
none of that misgiving which other travellers have expressed
when they have been tempted to a like proceeding. I felt
that I could not leave them to a doubtful fate after they
had been serving me ftiithfuUy for nothing, and attending me
for two whole years in the desert ; and I had no kind of idea
that I was reducing myself to the level of a slave-dealer
by determining to retain them and to introduce them to
European civilisation, for if I left them behind I was quite
aware that they would be immediately consigned to the
ordinary lot of slavery. Eather was I disposed to compare
myself with those noble-minded Orientals who, although
they look upon the regular slave-dealer's calling as the vilest
and most degrading of all professions, yet do not consider
the possession of slaves to be in itself illegitimate or incon-
sistent with the purest morality.
It may be well to transcribe here my original diary of the
passage down the Gazelle. It will not, I believe, be without
interest, if it be only to show that the length of the river has
hitherto been much exaggerated on all previous maps : —
" June 26^^. — Sailed for about four hours, until evening,
along the Kyt. A light breeze. The Kyt channel from eight
to ten feet deep ; its bottom one great mass of valisneria.
472 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
" ^Ith. — Dull, cloudy day. A contrary N.N.E. wind has
prevented us from getting beyond the mouth of the Dyoor.
" 28</i. — Slow progress, on account of the continued N.N.E.
wind. In the afternoon a more favourable breeze. The
boat's crew affirm that after passing the mouth of the
Dyoor the water becomes whiter. I cannot say that I can
perceive any difference ; the water is clear and colourless,
and free from any flavour of the swamps, as if it had been
distilled. Elephants to be seen marching about the shore,
considerably in front of the demarcation line made by the
trees. To the west of the channel are columns of smoke
from some adjacent murah. Acacia-forests (none of the
trees more than forty feet high) line both sides of the land
subject to inundation ; nowhere do these exceed a width of
two miles. We proceed through clumps of ambatch, and
make a wide bend to the west round an island which the
sailors call Gyerdiga. Continued sailing at night under a
good west wind.
"29^A. — Quite early at a place where the river is not
500 feet across ; the contracted spot enclosed by bush-forest.
Soon afterwards we pass the mouth of the Bahr-el-Arab.
There is a favourable breeze from the south-east. In the
afternoon we reach the first Nueir villages. Some of the
great Balsenice]ps rex are standing on the white ant-hills ;
have they been there ever since I last saw them there, two
years and more ago? At evening a negro is dying from
dysentery ; according to custom, the poor creature is thrown
overboard before life is really extinct. I fear my own
feelings of satisfaction at getting home again make me
somewhat callous to this horrible proceeding.
" ZOth. — A clouded sky, and the wind contrary. We heave-
to in a backwater that is overgrown with grass for seventy-
five feet from either bank : a solitary doom-palm marks the
spot. Again sail on throughout the night, the breeze having
once more become favourable.
DOWN THE GAZELLE. 473
" July Isi. — At 8 o'clock a.m. pass the Nueir villages, at
which we stayed for a day on our passage out. It is unsafe
to land now ; a Vokeel of Kurshook All's was murdered not
long since. The district is full of bushes; white ant-hills
and low acacia-hedges are frequent. A hippopotamus is
leaning against a great stem upon the bank ; we approach
within thirty paces of the flesh-coloured brute, but it makes
no attempt to get into the water. A bullet is fired, but
seems to take no effect ; the great beast totters about as
though it needed support. All the crew assert that it is
hopelessly ill, and has gone, as usual, on the land to die ; no
one, however, explains why it still stands upright. Large
herds of Dinka cattle graze on the northern bank. Towards
evening we arrive at the lake-like opening by the mouth of
the G-azelle, where the water is a mile across. A tremendous
gale gets up from the N.N.E. ; the boat is tossed about
on the muddy bottom of the river and dashed against the
floating islands of grass. The mast and sail-yards creak as
though they must snap in two; the boatmen shout according
to their habit, but the Reis cannot join them because he is
hoarse with a cold. There is an incessant invocation of the
saints of the Nile : a mingled outcry of ' ya Seyet, ya Sheikh
Abd-el-kader, Aboo Seyet, ya Sheikh Ahmed-el-Nil.'
" 2nd. — A good west wind ca'rries us betimes past the
mouth of the Gazelle. I am surprised to find the floating
grass in almost the same condition as in the winter of 1869 ;
the water, however, is higher now, and consequently the
entrance to the main stream is easier."
From these contemporary notes it will at once be inferred
that the entire length of the Gazelle was navigated by us in
four and a half days of very moderate sailing. If the stream
is from 136 to 140 miles long, as nearly all the existing
maps have represented it, we must have sailed at a rate of
about thirty miles a day ; but for my part I feel sure that.
474 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
this estimate of our speed must be reduced by at least one-
quarter.
All the comfort of our future progress was marred by the
incessant plagues of flies, and all its regularity was inter-
rupted by the same grass-obstructions that had impeded
us on our former voyage. Before we could enter the side
channel known as the Maia Signora, we had to make our
way by a narrow cut of water that rushed along like a
wild brook, and forced itself through the masses of vegeta-
tion on either side of the river, which here, I should suppose,
was about half a mile wide. The depth of the fairway varied
from six feet to eight feet, and the boat nowhere touched
the bottom. The best plan that I can devise for rendering
the stream permanently navigable would be to erect dams
at certain intervals, and it appears to me that the small
depth of water would render the project far from difficult of
accomplishment.
We spent the 3rd in sailing along the channel of the
Maia Signora, which was 300 feet in width. Towards
evening we re-entered the main-stream. At night we con-
tinued to drift along, borne gradually onward by the slow
current ; but, in case of being surprised by sudden gusts of
strong wind, we did not hoist a sail. The open channel was
about 500 feet in width, but on the northern side it was
divided from the actual shore by a growth of grass that was
scarcely less than 3000 feet across. The morning brought
us in sight of the huts in the Shillook district of Tooma.
A horrible association will be for ever linked to my
memories of that night. Dysentery is a disorder to which
the negroes, on changing their mode of living, are especially
liable, and an old female slave, after long suffering, was now
dying in the hold below. All at once, probably attacked
by a fit of epilepsy, she began to utter the most frightful
shrieks and to groan with the intensest of anguish. Such
sounds I had never heard before from any human being, and
A HY^NA-WOMAN. 475
I hardly know to what I may compare them, except it be to
the unearthly yells of the hyaenas as they prowl by night
amidst the offal of the market-towns of the Soudan. Begin-
ning with a kind of long-drawn sigh, the cries ended with
the shrillest of screams, and were truly heartrending. From
my recess in the bow of the boat, that was partitioned off
by a screen of matting, I could not see what was going on,
and conscious that I was quite powerless to accomplish any
alleviation for the sufferer, I tried to shut out the me-
lancholy noise by wrapping myself closely round in my bed-
clothes. Presently I was conscious of the sound of angry
voices ; then came a sudden splash in the water amidst
the muttered curses upon the " marafeel " (the hyaena), and
all was still. The inhuman sailors had laid hold upon the
miserable creature in her death-agonies, and, without waiting
for her to expire, had thrown her overboard. In their own
minds they were perfectly convinced that she was a witch or
hysena-woman, whose existence would inevitably involve the
boat in some dire calamity.
It was about five o'clock in the afternoon when we passed
the mouth of the Gazelle. Nearly all next day a contrary
north wind prevailed, and was so strong that we were obliged
to put in upon the right-hand bank. From the spot where
we lay-to I counted as many as forty villages on the opposite
shore. The district was called Nelwang, and the whole
of the surrounding region belonged to the once powerful
Shillook chieftain Kashgar, now no longer formidable, as lie
had lately been reduced to subjection and his entire dominion
converted into a regular Egyptian province. Of this altered
condition of things we had received no intelligence, and
consequently we were in no little trepidation when we saw
the natives crossing the river in large numbers just above
the place where we were stopping. But we need not have
been under any apprehensions. It was soon manifest that
the Shillook party had no hostile intentions, and were
476 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
o-athered together merely lor a hunting-excursion in the
forests beyond the right bank of the river.
On observing the crowd of Shillooks our first impulse
had been to make our way into the middle of the stream.
It was past noon, and we were intently watching the move-
ments of the hunters, when our attention was suddenly
attracted by four men, dressed in white, shouting and ges-
ticulating to us from the opposite bank. We could not
imagine what Mohammedans were doing in this part of the
country, and without loss of time pushed across and took
the men on board. They proved to be Khartoom boatmen
sent by the Mudir of Fashoda to inform us that his camp was
close at hand, and that it was requisite for all boats coming
down the river to stop there and submit to a rigid investi-
gation as to what freight and passengers they were carrying.
Our long sail-yard had been observed from the camp, and
active measures had been immediately taken to prevent us
from continuing our voyage without undergoing the pre-
scribed scrutiny. ,
We had not long to wait before an unaccustomed surging
of the water made us aware that a steamer was quite close
upon us ; in a few moments more the " Remorquer," No. 8,
was alongside, and a rope thrown out by which we had to be
towed down to the camp.
However elated I might be at the prospect of being now
so soon restored to intercourse with men of a higher grade
than those with whom I had been long associated, I must
confess that this our first greeting from the civilized world
rather jarred upon my sensibilities, and in the sequel resulted
in some bitter disappointment.
For nearly a couple of hours we were quietly towed down
the river until, at a spot just above the mouth of the Sobat,
we came to a side arm of the main stream, called the Lollo.
Turning off abruptly into this we found ourselves proceeding
in a direction that was quite retrograde as compared with
FANEKAMA. • 477
that in which we had just come, and in another couple of
hours reached the Mudir's temporary camp in the district ol'
Fanekama. His force consisted of 400 black soldiers, fifty
mounted Baggara, and two field guns.
The Lollo flows almost parallel to the main-stream at a
distance varying from a quarter of a league to two leagues.
It is said to be about eighteen leagues in length ; its current
is extremely weak, and its depth from ten to fifteen feet ; in
many places it was from 800 to 1000 feet in width, and con-
sequently at this season as wide as the main-stream itself:
during the winter, however, it dwindles down to a mere
shallow khor.
The little steam-tug was an iron boat of 24 horse-power :
its sides were so eaten up by rust that they were like a sieve,
and the decrepit old captain, almost as worn-out as his vessel,
was everlastingly patching them up with a compound of
chalk and oil. Besides this, there were lying off Fanekama
three G-overnment boats and two large "negger" belonging
to Agahd's company that had come from the Meshera
Elliab on the Bahr-el-Ghazal ; these had been conveying no
less than 600 slaves, all of whom had been confiscated.
Notwithstanding that Sir Samuel Baker was still on the
upper waters of the river, the idea was quite prevalent in
all the Seribas that as soon as "the English pasha" had
turned his back upon Fashoda, the Mudir would relapse into
his former habits, levy a good round sum on the head of
every slave, and then let the contraband stock pass without
more ado. But for once the Seriba people were reckoning
without their host. The Mudir had been so severely repri-
manded by Baker for his former delinquencies that he
thought it was his best policy, for this year at least, to be as
energetic as he could in his exertions against the forbidden
trade ; and his measures were so summary, and executed
with such methodical strictness, that unless I had known
him I could scarcely have believed him to be a Turk. He
478 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
>vas now especially anxious to show off his authority before
me as the first witness who would have the power of reporting
his activity and decision to the world at large.
The first thing was to get all slaves whatever carried on
shore, that is to say all who were black and who were not
Mohammedans; no distinction was made in favour of such
as had come after having already been in Khartoom, although
they might have been reported in the list of the crews that
had worked the boats up the river.
Among the 600 slaves now brought in Agahd's boats
there were representatives of no less than eighteen different
tribes. The small-pox, however, had raged so frightfully
among them that fear of contagion alike for myself and
my people deterred me from taking advantage of the
unusual opportunity offered for ethnographical investiga-
tion. It must not be supposed that these 600 slaves had
been the only passengers on Agahd's boats ; in addition
to them there had been 200 Nubians, and thus it may
be imagined that the most crowded cattle-pens could hardly
have been more intolerable than the vessels throughout
their voyage.
Many of the black soldiers under the Mudir's command,
recruited as they had been at Khartoom from slaves pre-
viously confiscated, made very fair interpreters to assist in
classifying the new arrivals according to their race and
nationality. Everything about the slaves had to be regis-
tered. Their number, the number of tribes that they repre-
sented, their age, their sex, the way they had been purchased,
the place where they had been captured, the circumstances
under which they had fallen into the hands of the Khar-
toomers, and all particulars of this sort had to be entered in
a book. Then each of the Nubians was separately questioned
about his own home, his name, his rank, his trade or pro-
fession, the number of his slaves, and the price he had paid
for them respectively ; to each of the traders there was then
A MINUTE INVESTIGATION. 47'J
handed a copy of his own affidavit, to which he was obliged
to affix his seal.
An inventory was next taken of all property, so that it
might be retained at the pleasure of the Government, guns,
ammunition, and ivory being expressly specified. The three
Arab clerks entered into such minute details, and made their
reports so prolix, that it was necessary for them to apply an
amount of patient industry of which I could hardly have
believed them capable.
Besides these notaries the Mudir kept a number of smiths
and carpenters perpetually employed in the fabrication of
the iron fetters and wooden sheybas to bind the Reis and all
the men that were not absolutely indispensable for the navi-
gation of the boat. Every possible precaution seemed to be
taken, and even seals were made for the use of those who
had none of their own with which to attest their affidavits.
It took two days to complete our inspection ; but when it
came to an end, three soldiers were sent on board as a guard,
and we were allowed to proceed. Free from the polluted air
of Fanekama, I began to feel that I could breathe again.
A day and a half brought us to Fashoda, where I was
equally surprised and gratified to hear of a kindness that
had been intended to be shown me. Dyafer Pasha, the
Governor-General, immediately on hearing of the destitute
condition in whicli I had been left by the burning down of
Ghattas's Seriba, had despatched to me such a munificent
supply of provisions of every description as would liave kept
me well for months not only with the means of subsistence,
but with many of the elegancies of a civilised life. Had this
liberal contribution reached me before I left Bongoland, I
think I should have been vastly tempted to defer my return
to Europe for another year ; but it was not to be ; the sup-
plies had been placed under the charge of a company of
soldiers who were going up the Gazelle to reinforce the
troops already stationed in Dar Ferteet ; but the change of
480 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
wind and the condition of the water had delayed their pro-
gress till it was too late to proceed, and they had been obliged
to stay at Fashoda until the commencement of the winter.
The condition of the unfortunate slaves had become far
worse since their confiscation ; the very measures that ought
to have ameliorated their lot had been but an aggravation
of their misery. The supply of corn was rapidly coming to
an end ; they had, in fact, hardly anything to eat, and the
soldiers on guard never dreamed of making the least exer-
tion to provide in any way for their needs, resorting to the
use of the kurbatch much more freely than their former
masters, who had now lost whatever interest they might liave
had in their welfare.
My powers of endurance were sorely tried. Incessant on
the one hand were the murmurs and complaints ; incessant
on the other were the scoldings and cursings. If some luck-
less negro happened to be blessed with a tolerably good and
robust constitution so that he kept fat and healthy under all
his hardships, he was continually being made a laughing-
stock and jeered at for being " a tub ; " if, on the contrary,
a poor wretch got thin till he was the very picture of misery,
he was designated a "hytena," and perpetually bantered
on account of his " hysena-face." I used to have wliole
kettles full of rice and maccaroni boiled for the poor crea-
tures, but it was, of course, utterly beyond the compass of
my resources to do much towards supplying their wants.
On approaching the district of Wod Shellay, we perceived
countless masses of black specks standing out against the
bright coloured sand. They were all slaves! The route
from Kordofan to the east lay right across the land, and was
quite unguarded ; the spot that we now saw was where the
caravans are conveyed over the river on their way to the
great de2>6t at Mussalemieh. Once again did the sight
remind me of Katherine II.'s painted villages in South Eussia,
although this time in a somewhat different sense.
AERIVAL AT KHAETOOM. 481
At length towards sunset, on the 21st of July, we reached
the Ras-el-Khartoom. Our entire journey from the Meshera
had been accomplished in twenty-five days, six of which had
been consumed in stoppages at Fanekaina, Fashoda, and
Kowa. Upon the whole I congratulated myself on getting
so quickly to the end of the trouble. With a quickened
pulse I set out alone on foot for the town. Evening was
drawing on, and although I met numbers of people, there
was no one to recognise me ; in my meagre white calico
costume I might easily have passed for one of those homeless
Greeks, who, without a place to rest their heads, have been
forced to seek their fortune in the remotest corners of the
earth. I made my way at once to a German tailor named
Klein, who had been living for some years in Khartoom, and
'"' by the vigorous prosecution of his trade had contributed in
no small degree towards the promotion of external culture in
the town. He soon provided me with some civilised gar-
ments, and I felt myself fit to make my appearance before
my old friends, at least such as remained, for some I grieved
to learn were dead, and others had left the place.
I found Khartoom itself much altered. A large number
of new brick buildings, a spacious quay on the banks of the
Blue Nile, and some still more imposing erections on the
other side of the river, had given the place the more decided
aspect of an established town. ' The extensive gardens and
rows of date-palms planted out nearly half a century back,
had now attained to such a development that they could not
be altogether without influence on the climate ; in spite of
everything, however, the sanitary condition of Khartoom
was still very unsatisfactory. This was entirely owing to
the defective drainage of that portion of the town that had
been built below the high-water level. In July, when I was
there, I saw many pools almost large enough to be called
ponds that could never possibly dry up without the appli-
cation of proper means for draining them off; stagnant
Vol. II.— 33
482 TH1-: HEAET OF AFRICA.
under the tropical sun, they sent forth such an intolerable
stench that it was an abomination to pass near them. When
it is remembered that Khartoom is situated in the desert-
zone (for the grassy region does not begin for at least 150
miles farther to the south) there can appear no necessary
reason why it should be more unhealthy than either Shendy
or Berber ; all that is wanted is that the sanitary authorities
should exercise a better management and see that stagnant
puddles should be prevented.
As I have already intimated, I found that not a few of my
former acquaintances during my absence had fallen victims
to the fatal climate ; but no loss did I personally deplore
more than that of the missionary Blessing, who died just a
fortnight before my arrival ; Herr Duisberg had left Kliar-
toom, and since his departure Blessing had managed all my '
affairs, and it was from him that I had received my last
despatches in the negro-countries. I found his young widow
perfectly inconsolable, and the sight of her grief made me
feel doubly what a blank his death had left.
On the day after my arrival I telegraphed to Alexandria
to announce my safe return. The message reached its des-
tination in the course of two days ; the charge for twenty
words was four dollars. The telegram had to be written in
Ai'abic, and in the compressed yet lucid form of that lan-
guage ran as follows : — " German Consulate-General, Alex-
andria. Arrived July 21st. Telegraph to Braun at the
Berlin Academy that he may inform my mother. Nothing
else necessary." The telegraph had only been established
• luring the last few months, and as yet was scarcely in full
working order. The oflScials were young and inexperienced
at their work, and the direct line of communication was
broken in two places by the messages having to be conveyed
across the river; as a further defect, the Morse system was
partially in use, and it was only beyond Assouan that the
ni edle-system had been adopted. Except for the conciseness
MY SERVANTS' DILEMMA. 483
of its forms of expression, Arabic is extremely unsuitable for
telegraph) ; the deficiency of vowel symbols makes proper
names all but undecipherable to any one who is previously
unacquainted with them. But with all its temporary short-
comings, the establishment of the telegraph will ever rank
as pre-eminent amongst the services rendered by the Govern-
ment of Ismail Pasha.
Dyafer Pasha, to whom I was so much indebted for his
liberal intentions on my behalf, received me with his unfail-
ing cordiality, and gave me a lodging in one of the Govern-
ment buildings that was at his disposal ; but notwithstanding
all his generosity to myself I could not feel otherwise than
very much hurt at the unscrupulous manner in which he
acted towards my servants. Their faithfulness to myself had
made me much interested in them, and I now felt intensely
annoyed when I found that, without any communication with
me, they had been seized, thrust into irons, and set to work
in the galleys, leaving me witli no one but my three negro
lads, and without the services of anybody who knew how to
cook. The fact was that, although I had not been made
acquainted with it, they had been in possession of some slaves
on their own account, representing them as being consigned
to their care by friends in the upper district, who wanted to
forward them to their homes. It was, I found, quite out of
my power to prevent the controllers of the diiferent Seribas
all along my route from making presents of slaves to my
servants; any protest on my part was always practically
useless, and only tended to produce an irritating disagreement
between us. At the time of our embarkation at the Mesliera
I imagined that they were accompanied only by the wives of
two of them, one of their children, and two voting boys who
had been so long with them that I quite regarded theiu as
a recognised part of their belongings ; but it turned out in
reality that they had no less than fifteen slaves, which they
were surreptitiously ':'arrying with tln-m. The whole lot
484 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
were now confiscated in one common batch; no distinction
was made — men, wives, and children were all included in the
general fate. This was as illegal as it was unjust, for every
slave who has borne any children is reckoned as a wife,
.ilthough there may have been no regular marriage.
Four separate appeals did I take the trouble to make to
the Pasha for the emancipation of my servants. Even at
last my success was only partial, for I could not obtain the
restitution of freedom either to the women or the children,
although their confiscation had been specially illegal. The
Pasha was on the point of starting for Egypt, but I could
not permit any circumstance of the kind to prevent my
doing everything in my power to assist my servants, who had
shown such fidelity for a period of three years. 1 could not
find it in my heart to leave them to fight out their cause
for themselves with the arbitrary and disorderly adminis-
tration that I knew well enough would follow the Pasha's
departure. I resolved, therefore, to take the men on with
me to Cairo. I incurred a considerable extra expense by
travelling with so large a retinue ; but I would not be
daunted, and after a world of trouble I succeeded ultimately
in obtaining redress for their grievances.
I told the Pasha that, grateful as I was for all his hos-
pitality and kindness to myself, I could not help being
extremely annoyed at the trick that had been played me.
Nothing, I assured him, could obliterate the impression that
he had looked upon me as an easy dupe : his proceedings in
this respect were quite an insult. I gave him my opinion
that if he wanted to suppress the slave-trade he must see
that the laws were carried out all over the country, and not
merely along the river. Repressive measures, that were
enforced at isolated and uncertain intervals, were of no use
at all, and only served to inflame the population with in-
creased hatred to the Franks. For what good, I asked him,
was it to lay an embargo upon the boats when (to take only
EXPOSTULATION. 485
one example) the Mudir of Kordofan quietly allowed the
slave-trade to be carried on in his province to such an extent
that in a single year no less than 2700 slave-dealers had
made their way to Dar Ferteet ; and whilst they were there
not only had the Egyptian commander raised no objection
to their proceedings, but had so far coalesced with his officers
as practically to become a professional slave-dealer himself.
The ill-feeling and smothered rage against Sir Samuel
Baker's interference, nurtured by the higher authorities,
breaks out very strongly amongst the less reticent lower
ofiScials. In Fashoda, and even in Khartoom, I heard com-
plaints that we (the Franks) were the prime cause of all the
trouble, and if it had not been for our eternal agitation with
the Viceroy such measures would never have been enforced.
Yet they need to be instructed that it was never the in-
tention either of VVilberforce or any of our modern philan-
thropists that men should, under any pretext, be robbed of
their wives, or parents of their children, or even that slaves
sliould be wrested from the hands of the traders merely to
be distributed amongst the soldiers, or to be compelled to
become soldiers themselves. And, as I pointed out to the
officials, the very reproaches they made tended to lower the
Viceroy, just because they implied that his commands were
only influenced by external pressure from foreign Powers. I
tried further to make them see that it was quite impossible
for any ruler to maintain proper authority unless his sub-
ordinates, whose duty it was to support him, did their
utmost to contribute to his dignity.
On the 9th of August I once again took my passage on
board a Nile boat, this time under more comfortable and less
ambiguous circumstances. With a fiivourable wind and high
water our voyage was very rapid. On the fourth day we
reached Berber. Here* I found excellent quarters in the
house of my friend Vasel, and for the first time, after many
months, had the enjoyment of intercourse with, a well-
486 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
educated fellow-countryman. Vasel had been a benefactor to
the land by erecting a large portion of the telegraph lately
opened between Assouan and Khartoom, and, in spite of
his exertions in a climate that had been fatal to so many
Europeans, had hitherto enjoyed unbroken health.
The deaths during the last fever-season had been more
than usually numerous. In Khartoom, in 1870, almost all
the resident Europeans had been fatally attacked, and
amongst them Dr. Ori, the renowned Italian zoologist, after
successfully withstanding the deleterious atmosphere for ten
successive years. Soon afterwards Thibaud, the head of the
French vice-consulate, was carried to the grave, followed in
the course of a week by the whole of his family. He had
spent forty-three years of his life at Khartoom ; as an asso-
ciate of Arnaud's, and in company with Werne and Sabatier,
he had taken part in the memorable expedition that in 1841
was sent out by Mehemet Ali to discover the sources of the
Nile, and in the prosecution of their task ascended as f;ir
as Gondokoro. To the melancholy death of Blessing I have
already referred ; and now, on reaching Berber, I learnt that
my old friend Lavargue had succumbed to fever only a short
time before my arrival. He, too, had been residing i'nr
many years in the Soudan.
And now the next to go was my little Tikkitikki. He
had for some time been marked by the unsparing hand of
death, and here it was during my stay at Berber that I had
to mourn his loss. At Khartoom he had been taken ill with
a severe attack of dysentery, probably induced by change
of air and very likely aggravated by his too sumptuous diet.
His disorder had day by day become more deeply seated ; my
care in nursing seemed to bring no alleviation, and every
remedy failed to take effect ; he became weaker and weaker,
till his case was manifestly hopeless, and, after lingering
three weeks, sunk at last from sheer exhaustion.
Never before, I think, had I ever felt a death so acut( Iv ;
START FOR SAUKIN. 487
my grief so weakened and unmanned me that my energies
flagged entirely, so that I could scarcely walk for half an
hour without extreme fotigue. Since that date two yeais
have passed away, but still the recollection of that season ol'
bitter disappointment is like a wound that opens afresh.
The other two negro-boys, according to my intention,
were to be playmates and companions for my little Pygmy ;
but now that he had been taken from me I took measures to
provide for them in a different way. The elder one, Amber,
a true Niam-niam, I left behind in Egypt, under the care of
my old friend Dr. Sachs, the celebrated physician of Cairo ;
my little Bongo, Allagabo Teem, was taken to Germany for
the purpose of receiving a careful education.
I was delayed in Berber by the sad circumstances of my
little -proteges death ; but independently of that, my stay was
prolonged by waiting for a courier who, by the orders of his
Highness the Khedive, was on his way to meet me. The
German Consul-General Von Jasmund, with his accustomed
solicitude for all who were in any way entrusted to his
protection, had procured me this favour. Fearing that I
should be in want, he had commissioned the courier to bring
me money, medicines, arms, and clothing of all description.
Meanwhile I had amply provided myself at Khartoom with
everything of which I stood in need, and was consequently
anxious, if I could, to stop the progress of the envoy. It
was, however, several days, even with the help of the tele-
graph, before I could find out how far he had advanced, or
could succeed in countermanding his orders.
On the 10th of September I was ready to start for Suakin.
The route that I took was the same, through the valleys o\
Etbai, by which I had journeyed on starting three years
previously. My little caravan consisted now but of thirteen
people. By the help of fourteen camels we accomplished
the journey in a fortnight, without any misadventure. Once
again I was in sight of the sea. It was with the truest
488 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
interest that I regarded the faithful few tliat were round about
me, and as I looked down i'rom the sumiuit of the Attaba,
3415 feet high, that enabled me to gaze beyond the inter-
vening stretch of land to Suakin and to catch the extended
Jeep-blue line of sea, my feelings could be understood by
none except by a wanderer who, like myself, had been
lingering in the depths of an untraversed country. On the
26th of September I embarked at Suakin, and after a
pleasant voyage of four days landed at Suez ; by the 2nd ol'
November I had reached Messina.
Thus, after an absence of three years and four months, I
was once again upon the soil of Europe.
APPENDIX I.
TABLE OF HEIGHTS OF VAEIOUS POINTS VISITED
DUEING THE JOUENEY.
(Computed by Dr. Wilhelm Sciiur.)
During my journey I made use of th.ree aneroids, all of which
I brought back safe to Europe ; they were subsequently most
carefully tested under various conditions of temperature and
pressure by Dr. Wilhelm Schur, who undertook to estimate and
reduce to standard measure the various observations I had made.
I here append only the final results of his investigations, but
for more complete details I would refer to the Journal of the
Geographical Society of Berlin (vol. viii., p. 228), where he has
described at length his method for ascertaining the proper
corrections of my registries, after allowing for the variations
from the mean condition of the barometer.
I very rarel}' failed three times in the course of a day to note
the readings of the aneroids, but these numerous observations
were only entered in my diary, and consequently perished with
the rest of my papers in the conflagration of the 2nd of December,
1870; only those observations, therefore, that were made subse-
quently to that ill-fated-day, and a few others that were sent
home promiscuously in my correspondence, were available for
Dr. Schur 's deductions.
But altogether the following figures will suffice to give very
approximately a true conception of the heights of the regions
that I visited, and it may be of some interest to compare the
resiilts with those obtained during the geometrical surve}' that
is requisite for the formation "^^f the proposed railway between
Suakin and Berber.*
* The position of this district with regard to the points of thc' compass may-
he seen in the map of the road from Suakin to Uerber, which I published in
vol. XV. of Petermann's ' Geographical Coiainunications,' Table J 5. 18G9.
490
THE IIEAIIT OF AFItlCA.
In tlie approximate heights given below, Dr. Sthur has reck-
oned 25 meters as being equivalent to about 82 English fret.
A. — Points between the Eed Sea and the Nile on thk Roau
FROM SUAK'IN TO BekBEK.
Heislit above the sea.
1 Three hours W. of Suakin, I
2 Tamarisk wood, 7^ hours \V. of Suakin.
3 Wady Teekhe, lU hours W. of Suakin.
4 First Attaba (pass), 13 hours W. of Suakin;
5 At the pools in the valley between the i
two Attabas.
6 Second Attaba, highest pass. |
7 Upper Wady Gabet, below the Attaba. j
8 Singat, summer camp in the great Valley ;
ofOkwak. I
9 Wady Sarroweeb, 4 hours E.S.E. of I
Singat. 1
10 Wad}" Harrassa in Erkoueet, 8 hours
E.S.E. of Singa*-, near the summer camp.
11 At the base of the high hill of Erko- I
weet, on the N. side. i
12 Summit of the hill of Erkoweet. '
13 2 hours W. of Singat, 1 hour from 0-
Mareg, E. of the small pass. |
14 3^ hours W. of Singat, W. of the small
pass.
15 0-Mareg, summer camp in the valley.
16 Small Wady, 3 hours W. of the Mareg,
in front of the pass.
17 Near the wells in Wady A met.
18 On the S. slope of the W. end of the
mountain O-Kurr, 5 hours W. of the
wells of Araet.
19 Small Wady, an hour W. of Wady Ai'ab.
20 Grassy Wady W. of Wady Arab, an
hour from the great khor-bed.
21 Near the wells in Wady Kamot-Atai.
22 Wady 4 hours E, of Wady Habob.
23 Wady Diraehadeet.
24 Wady Habob, eastern arm.
25 Wady Habob, western arm.
26 Wady Kokreb, camping-place, 1871.
27 Wady Kokreb, camping- place S. of last.
28 Great Wady, an hour W. of Wady
Kokreb.
212
544
618
924
913
1041
925
941
1037
1137
1250
1676
1007
1072
971
949
810
803-3
739-9
762-5
735-3
705-6
717-5
741-0
600-2
694-5
597-6
657-0
Kiig. ft.
6'J5
1785
2030
3033
2996
3415
3037
3088
3404
3732
4101
5499
3304
3518
3188
3115
2658
2635
2427
2501
2412
2314
2354
2431
1969
2278
1960
2155
APPENDIX I.
491
20 5^ hours W. of small isolated hill near
Wady Derumkad (Upper AVaily
Yumga)
30 Wady Ynmga.
31 Wady Derumkad. i
32 Small isolated hill, an hour W. of Wady '
Derumkad.
33 Valley near the acacias S. of the wells
of Koway.
34 Below the small pass above the Wady
Laemeb.
35 End of rising; ground in the upper
Wady Laemeb.
36 In the middle of Wady Laemeb.
37 In the middle of ^^ ady Laemeb.
38 In the lower Wady Laemeb. 2 hours
E. of 0-Feek.
39 Wady at the foot of the hill 0-Feek,
southern side.
40 2 hours E. of the bush-forest at 0-
Baek.
41 0-Baek, bush-forest near the wells.
42 Eain-pool, 2 hours W. of 0-Baek.
43 5i hours W. of 0-Baek.
44 Wady Eremit, camping place in 1871.
45 \\ ady Eremit, camping place in 18G8.
46 Depression in Wady A boo Kolod.
47 Wady Darrowreeb or Derrteb.
48 Wady Aboo Zelem.
49 Pools of Aboo Tagger, 2+ hours E. of
Berber (el Mekherif),
50 Town of Berber (el Mekherif) 30 feet
above the hiuhest level of the Nile.
Hcigbt above the sea.
Metera.
Eng. ft.
650-0
2132
587-6
1'.27
i81-4
190.
578-0
1896
590-2
1936
580-1
19*03
532-8
1748
574-6
1885
513-9
1(.8G
458-8
1505
•498-6
1635
508-2
1667
476-3
1562
459-0
1506
438-8
1439
464-4
1523
446-0
1463
399-8
1311
414-U
1359
42-2
1483
403-6
1324
417-0
1368
B.— PoxNis ON I HE Nile between Lat. 9° and 18° N.
1 Above Wolled Bassul (from the boat).
2 Town of Matamnia (from the boat).
3 Town of Shendy (from the boat).
4 Town of Khartoora, 20 feet above the
highest level of the Blue Nile.
5 Meshera, on the island on the Kyt. the
extremity of the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
Height at ove
the sea..
Metors.
Kiig. U.
399 - 7
1319
404-4
1326
408-8
1341
407-2
442-7
1336
1452
492 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
C. — Points in the Bahr-el-Ghazal District.
Height above the sea.
1 Ghattas's chief Seriba in Dyoor-land.
2 Knrshook Ali's chief Seriba on the
Dyoor.
3 Agahd's small Seriba Dubor, in Bt)ngo-
land.
4 A boo Gnroon's small Seriba Danga in
Bongoland.
5 Bizelly's small Seriba Doggaya-mor in
Bongoland.
6 Idrees Wod Defter's Seriba in the Golo
district.
7 Seebehr Eahama's chief Seriba in tlie
Kredy district.
8 Dehm Gudyoo, Agahd's Seriba.
9 On the brook Gulanda between Dehm
Gudyoo and Dehm Bekeer. '
10 Dehm Bekeei', Knrshook Ali's Seriba. j
11 Dehm Adlan, Seebehr Adlan's Seriba '
the Sebre district.
12 Agahd's small Seriba Ngulfala, in I
Bongoland. j
13 Agahd's small Seriba Moody, in Bongo- |
land. I
14 Take's residence in the Dinka country, j
Meters.
471-2
Eng. it.
1545
542-1
1778
565-5
1854
543-7
1783
554-5
1818
703-6
2306
696-0
846 3
2282
2775
729-1
771-0
2391
2528
747-1
2450
681-0
1905
575-0
426-5
1886
1399
D. — Point beyond the Nile District.
1 Mnnza's residence in Monbuttoo land,
Aboo Sammat's Seriba.
Height above the sea.
Meters. Eng. It.
825-4
2707
APPENDIX II.
BIGHT ITINERARIES IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE
DISTRICTS TO THE SOUTH AND WEST OF MY
ROUTE.
A. — Iduees Wod Defter's RoijTE to the W.S.W, kkom Dehm
GUDVOO.
First day. — Four hours 1o the village of the Kredy chief
Mangirr, on Agahd's territory.
Second day. — Six or seven leagues to some Kredy hamletn still
on Agahd's territory.
Third day. — Long day's march of seven or eight hours to the
deserted villages of a former Kredy chief, named Koiye.
Fourth day. — Eight leagues across an uninhabited district;
night in the wilderness.
Fifth day. — Seven leagues to a small Seriba belonging to
Idrees Wod Defter on Mount Berangah.
Sixth day. — Seven or eight leagues across an inhabited district
to the chief Seriba of Idrees Wod Defter, situated on a river
tlowing to the north-west- The Kredy tribes of the district are
called Bia and Mehre ; thu local chief is named Gariaongoh.
Seventh day. — Five hours' march to the west to a subsidiai}-
Seriba belonging to Idrees, called Adya, after the Kredy tribe of
ihe district.
Eighth day. — Long day's march of eight or nine leagues across
the wilderness.
Ninth day. — Half a day's march to Idrces's most westerly
Seriba in Dar Benda, of which the chieftain is named Kobbo-
kobbo. The Benda are an independent nation, with their own
dialect.
Tenth r7a?/.— Seven or eight hours to the gieat river, said to
flow here in an easterly direction, and requiiing to be crossed in
494 THK HEART OF AFKICA.
boats at all seasons ; the population on the banks is composed
of the ivory-trading Aboo Dinga, and the land is called Dar
Diii"-a, or Dar Aboo Dinga. A king, known to the Nubians
by the name of Ayah, to whom several cliieftains are tributaiy,
resides to the north-west of Idrees Wod Defter's chief Seriba.
Dar Dinga is also the resort for many slave caravans under the
management of the great dealers from Darfoor and Kordofan.
The companies of Seebehr Bahama, Seebehr Adlan, and Agahd,
likewise visit the country to purchase ivory from the chieftains.
B.— YUMMA'S ROUTE TO THE W.S.W. FKOM DEHM
BEKEER TO THE RESIDENCE OF MOFIO.
First day. — Six or eight leagues to the last villages of the
Sehre : they belong to Kurshook All's territory, and tha Sheikh
is named Sahtsy. His residence is situated on a small river,
named the Ville or Wille, that is said to flow in a north-wesfera
direction, and to belong to the system^of the river of Dar Dinga:
it is at no part of the year less than twenty feet deep.
Second day to Eighth day (^inclusive). — Seven long days' marches
over uninhabited wildernesses to the borders of Mofio's terri-
tory, where his behnky Boborungoo has his mbanga.
Ninth day. — A short march over cultivated land to the residence
of the sub-chieftain Bakomoro.
Tenth day. — A long march mostly through wild forest to the
residence of Kanso, a behnky of Mofio's.
Eleventh day. — The road turns to the north-v\ est and leads by
a long day's march to the behnky Abindee. A river flowing
towards the north is crossed here ; it is named the Ngango, and
after joining the Welle or river of Sahtsy, flows into the great
river of Dar Dinga, farther to the north-west. In its lower
court-e the stream is known as the Mboma.
Twelfth day. — Half a day's march to the mbanga of Gazima,
the sub-chieftain in command of the district and a brother of •
Mofio's.
Thirteenth and Fourteenth days. — Two days' march to the resi-
dence of Mofio, only a good day's journey to the south-west of
Idrees Wod Defter's chief Seriba. The river on which it is
situated is said to be called the Mbette, and to flow into the
Mboma.
APPENDIX II. 495
C— ROUTE TO THE S.S.E. FROM DEHM BEKEER TO
SOLONGOH'S RESIDENCE.
First day. — An ordinary day's marcli across the Nguddurco
and the Djee (leaving the Kokkuloo hill on the left; to the
brook Biserry, which has been followed by Nubians, and found
to join the Wow. Unless the rainfall has been very excessive,
the brook may be waded even during tho Khareef. Muuut
Daragumba lies about two hours to the south of the passage over
the Biserry.
Second day. — A good day's march to the south-west across the
wilderness' to a little brook, named the Kommoh, said to flow
into the Bisei ry.
Third (lay. — The Dar (or inhabited land) of Solongoh's ter-
ritory is reached towards evening. Night spent at the resi-
dence of Karya, the chieftain's behnky and brother.
Fourth day.~The road bends more to the south, and leads by
a long day's march to the mbanga of another sub-chieftain,
named Ndundo, also. a brother of Solongoh.
Fifth day. — South-west to Yagganda, a third brother and
behnky of the chieftain. Mount Yahre is passed on the east.
Sixth day. — Across the Nomatina or Nomatilla, a copious river,
declared by the Niam-niam to be identical with the Wow, which
in its lower course in Bongoland they call the Nomatilla. Haif-
a-day's journej^ to the mbanga of Sclongoh.
Two days' march to the north-east from Solongoh lies Knr-
shook All's Seriba Aboo Shatter, in the land of the Bellanda,
which for the most part belongs to Solongoh. About half-way
there stands the residence of a behnky of the chieftain, named
Ndimma ; and a day's journey north of Kurshook Ali's settlement
lives another sub-chieftain, named Mamah ; consequently the
Seriba forms an enclave in Solongoh's territory, Solongoh's
father was named Borrongboh or Bongorboh, and was the brother
of Mofio and Zaboora.
YUMMA'S ROUTE TO THE SOUTH FROM DEHM
BEKEER TO YAFFATY AND INGIMMA.
First and Second day.— Two days to the S.S.W., across unin-
habited fiontier wildernesses.
496 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
TJiird day.— To-wardfi evening is reached the residence of the
small chieftain Yaffaty or Yapaty, the son of Zaboora, who had
shaken off his allegiance to his brother Mofio.
Fourth day. — A moderate day's inarch to the south to the
1 esidence of Bogwa Eiffio, a behnky and brother of Yaffaty.
Fifth day. — Across the brook Mbomoo, flowing northwards, and
said to empty itself into the Nomatilla, to Boggwa Yango, a
sub-chieftain of Bombo.
Sixth day. — An ordinary day's march to the mbanga of the
powerful chief Bumbo. A day's journey to the north-west is the
residence of Nembo, and about the same distance to the north-east
that of Nzembe, both of these are brothers and sub-chieftains of
Bombo.
Seventh and Eighth days. — Through uninhabited wildernesses.
Ninth day. — Across a great navigable river said to pass through
the territory of a chieftain named Sena, whose residence lies to
the east of the route ; on this account the Nubians call the
stream the river of Sena. By the Niam-Niam it is called the
Ware.
Tenth day. — To the residence of a son of Ezo (not to be con-
founded with the chief of the same name, who was the father of
Ndoruma and Ugetto) on the river of Sena, said to be identical
Avith the river of Wando (the Mbrwole).
Eleventh and Twelfth days. — Through inhabited country, the
territory of the old, decrepit chieftain Ezo. Two long marches
to the south of the river is the residence of Ingimma, the most
powerful of the sons of Ezo.
Thirteenth and Fourteenth days. — Half-a-day's piarch beyond
Ingimma's teriitoiy is the great Eiver of Kanna, known as the
Welle. After crossing the river to the south of Ingimma's
residence, that of Kanna is reached in two days' journey to the
east.
E.-ADEEAHMAN ABOO GUEOON'S EOUTE TO THE
S. FEOM HIS CHIEF SEEIBA TO THE NIAM-NIAM
AND MONBUTTOO.
First day. — Eight huuis to the south-west to Kurshook Ali's
Seriba Nguddo.
Second day. — Six liours to the south : night in the wilderness.
APPENDIX II. 497
Third day. — Half-a-day's march to Aboo Guroon's Seriba
Mabah, on the brook Lake.
Fourth day. — Seven hours' march to the S.S.W. to Gybel
Reggeb, where Aboo Guroon has his small Seriba Hibboo,
Fifth day. — Half-a-day's march to the south-east to the little
Seriba Mbellembey, the joint possession of Aboo Guroon and
Ghattas. The local chief of the Bongo in Mbellembe}' is named
Ghirrah.
Sixth day. — Half a day's march to the south-east to Ghattas's
Seriba Gebel Higgoo, on the southern frontier of the Bongo
country.
Seventh day. — To the south-west, leaving the territory of
Mundo (Babuckur) on the east. Eight hours across the wilder-
ness to Aboo Guroon's Seriba on the northern frontier of the
Niam-niam country. The Seriba was under the control of a
Niam-niain slave, named Fomboa, and was destroyed in 1870 by
Ndoruma. The name of the local chief was Ukwch.
Eighth day.— To the south, across the Sway (Djoor). Night-
camp in the wilderness on the Bikky.
Ninth day. — A long day's march ofaboiat nine hours across the
wilderness to the south-west, to the residence of Dukkoo, a brother
and sub-chieftain of Ndoruma.
Tenth day. — A long march to the south and west, the residence
of Mbory, a behnky of Ndoruma. Half-way lies the spot where
Ndoruma attacked and defeated the united companies in 1870.
Eleventh day. — A whole day's march to the residence of
Ndoruma on the Barah, a brook that is said to empty itself into
the Bikky. Ndoruma is the most powerful of the reigning sons
of Ezo.
Twelfth da?/.— Half-a-day's march to the mbanga of Gettwa or
Ngetto, a brother of Ndoruma and an independent chieftain ; his
lands lie to the south of Ndoruma's.
TJiirteenth day — An ordinary day's march to the south-east, to
the village of Mashmany, a behnky of Ngetto.
Fourteenth da?/.— Long march to the south-east across unin-
habited country.
Fifteenth day.—RnU a day's march to the territory of Malingdc.
In the middle of the day is reached the village of Owra, a son of
tlie wealthy chieftain.
Sixteenth day.— A whole day's march to the south-east, to the
village of a local overseer under Owra, named Pazway.
Vol. II.— 34
498 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
Seventeenth day. — Half-a-day's march to the residence of
Malingde or Marindo, one of the numerous sons of Bazimbey.
Eighteenth day. — A whole day's march to the W.S.W., to the
residence of Malingde's behnky Bahzia.
Nineteenth day. — A long day's march to the south-east, to the
villages of Malingde's behnky Yaganda.
Twentieth day. — Across uninhabited country : night in the
wilderness.
Twenty-first day. — Hal fa day's march to the residence of
Wando's behnky Bagbatta.
Twenty-second day. — A long daj's march to the river of Wando
(Mbrwole) : night on the banks. This stream is said to pass
through the territories of Sena and Indimma ; in its lower
course it bears the name of the Ware.
Tw'enty-third day. — Through the remainder of the border
wilderness on to the territory of Izingerria (in Munza's
dominions) near the villages of his behnky Dedda.
Twenty-fourth day. — Southwards to the numerous villages of
Tzingerria's territory.
Twenty-fifth day. — In the same direction to the residence of
one of Izingerria's behnkys.
Twenty-sixth day. — A" short march to the residence of Izin-
gerria himself.
F.— AHMED AWAT'S EOUTE TO THE S.W. FEOM
NDOEUMA TO EZO.
First day. — A good day's march to the west, to the residence
of Ndoruma's behnky Komunda.
Second day. — In the same direction to the residence of Tumafee,
another behnky of Ndoruma.
Third day. — To the residence of Mbahzuro, a brother and sub-
chieftain of Ndoruma.
Fourth day.— To the residence of Ndoruma's behnky Byazingee.
Fifth and Sixth days. — In a south-western direction across
uninhabited regions.
Seventh day. — Half a day's march to Baria's territory : halt at
the border villages.
Eighth day. — A day's march through populous districts to
Baria's residence, near which Ahmed Awat, Hassaballa's head-
APPENDIX n. 499
controller, has erected a Seriba. Baria is an old friend and
ally of the company.
Ninth day. — 'A good day's march to the south, to the residence
of Sango, a brother and sub-chieftain of Ndoruma.
Tenth and Eleventh days. — Across uninhabited country ; two
nights in the wilderness.
Twelfth day. — A day's march to the abode of Ndenny, a son and
former behnky of the deceased Sena.
Thirteenth day. — To the residence of Baziboh, the son of Sena,
now an independent chieftain.
Fourteenth day. — To the Gangara mountains, the home of the
A-Madi and their kindred tribe the Imberiy.
Fifteenth and Sixteenth days. — Through populated districts to
the residence of the old chieftain Ezo,
G.— EOUTE FEOM KURSHOOK ALI'S CHIEF SEEIBA
ON THE DYOOE TO ABOO SHATTER, IN THE DIS-
. TEICT OF THE BELLANDA.
First day. — Eight hours' march to the south-west and south,
through Hassaballa's small Seriba to Kurshook Ali's subsidiar}-
Seriba Mittoo in Bongoland.
Second day. — Six hours' march to the south, to a second Seriba
belonging to the same company, and called Longo. A small
Seriba of Agahd's lies to the east of the route : it is called Mbor,
and is not far from the left bank.of the Dyoor.
Third day. — Seven or eight leagues to the site of a former
Seriba of Kurshook Ali, named Murr.
Fourth day. — Across the frontier wilderness on the south of
the Bongo territory : night in the wilderness.
Fifth day. — A short march to the border villages of the
Bellanda, under the control of a behnky of the Niam-niam chief-
tain Solongoh.
Sixth da?/.— Half-a-day's march to Aboo Shatter, a lofty iso-
lated mountain, from the summit of which all the detached hills
of southern Bongoland and the mountains of Mundo (Babuckur)
are said to be visible. The local chief of the Bellanda, under
Kurshook Ali's jurisdiction, is named Akoo, whilst the chief of
the Niam-niam, tributary to Solongoh, is said to be Bongurr. Six
hours to the north-cast of Aboo Shatter is a second Bellanda
500 THE HEAET OF AFRICA.
Scriba, belonging to Knrshook Ali, called Dongoh : it is said to
be near the left bank of the Dyoor. Six hours farther to the
east, and beyond the river, is a third Seriba belonging to this
company, named Asalla. A few hours to the north of Asalla are
Aboo Guroon's Bongo Seribas, called Gebel Eegheb and Aboo-
leghee by the Nubians, after the Bongo Sheikh of the district.
The native name for Abooleghee is Karej, that of Gebel Eeggeb
beino; Hibboo,
H.— EOUTE TO THE SOUTH FEOM KULONGO TO
GEBEL HIGGOO AND MUNDO.
First day.- -Five hours to the SS.W. to Knrshook Ali's small
Seriba Kileby. Four hours to the west of Kileby lies the small
Seriba Ngorr, belonging to the same company.
Second day. — Seven hours' march to Ghattas's subsidiary Seriba
Mboh, of which the local chief of the Bongo is named Doliba. A
deserted Seriba of Knrshook Ali's, of which the local chief was
named Abrass, is passed on the road. Two considerable brooks
(the Molmul and the Nyedokoo ?) are crossed between Kileby
and Mbuh.
Third day. — Six or seven hours to Ghattas's Seriba Doggaia,
of which the local chief is named Bonyira.
Fourth day. — Four hours' march to Ghattas's Seriba on Gebel
Higgoo. The Bongo disirict is called Longo, the local chief
Higgoo. Three hours to the east is a much frequented Seriba
belonging to Ghattas; it is situated on the so-called Gebel
Shiteta (cayenne-pepper hill), and called Eoome by the Bongo.
The local overseer of the district is named Bomadioh. Sabby
lies two days' march east of Gebel Shiteta ; afler crossing the
Tondy the road leads on the first day through the village of the
Bongo sheikh Guiya, who is in Aboo Sammat's territory.
Mundo lies only two leagues to the south of Gebel Higgoo ; the
route to the Niam-niam lands across this mountainous region of
the Babuckur leads through a dangerous defile, where travellers
are often attacked by the natives. This is the Mundo visited
by J. Petherick in February 1858, the name of the places
which he passed are given by him in the Bongo dialect, and
several of them, such as Yow, Dangah, Mahah, Murr, and Luiigo,
are retained to the present time.
APPENDIX III.
LIST OF MAMMALIA OBSERVED DUEING MY
TRAVELS FROM THE GAZELLE.
(with their native names).*
1. Troglodytes niger. Geoflf. (Variety: Schweinfurthii. Gigl.^
Bongo : Dadda.
Niam-niam : Irangba or Manjarooma.
Monbuttoo : Kohzo,
Sehre : Sango.
2. Colohus guereza. Eiipp.
Bongo : Ndollo.
Niam-niam : Mbeggeh.
3 Cercopitliecus griseoviridis. Desm.
Dyoor : Kgero or Angehn
Bongo : Manga.
Niam-niam : Ngalangala.
Kredy: Ohio.
4. Cercopithectis pyrrhonotus. Ehrb.
Dinka : Agohk.
Dyoor : Abworro.
Bongo : Gumbi,
Niam-niam : Gungbeh.
Golo : Toggwa.
Kredy : Nyagga
* The native names will also show the geographical distribution of the
various animals. 1 am indebted to Professor K. 1 lartmann for the names of
all but the doubtful species.
602 THE HEAKT OP AFRICA.
5. Gercopithecus pygerythrus. F. Cuv
Mam-niam : Ndumm.
6. Gynocephalus Babuin. Desm.
Dyoor : Bimm.
Bongo : Kungali.
Is iain-niam : Bokkoo.
7. Gynocephalus sp.
Sehre : Mbeeri.
Golo : Filli.
Kredy : Booroo.
8. Otolicnus Teng. Geoffr. (Galago senegalensis. F. Cuvier.)
Dinka : Londorr or Nehngby.
Dyoor : Anyoi or Anynai.
Bongo : Kdohr.
Kiam-niam : Bakunibosso.
9. Otolicnus Pelei. Temm. (Galago Demidoffii. Fisch.)
Is iam-niam : Mbottoo.
10. Megaderma frons. Geoffr.
11. Vesperugo sp.
Bongo : Beeroo.
Niam-niam : Tooreli.
12. Scotophilus leucogaster. Geoffr.
13. Nycteris Mspida. Geoffr.
14:. Phyllorrhina caffra. Lund.
1 5. Erinaceus sp.
Dyoor : Ohkoddo.
Bongo : Ndudoopirakpeh.
Niam-niam : Dunduleh.
Golo : Iddoo.
Kredy :-Ohko.
Sehre : Mbarra,
16. Sorex sp.
Dyoor : Ushull.
Bongo : Tondo, or Shondo.
Niam-niam : Ndelly.
Golo: Diffee.
Kredy : Djanje-kreie.
APPENDIX m. 503
17. Batelus caperisis. G. Cuv.
Dyoor : Ogang.
Bongo : Nyirr.
Niam-niam : Torubale.
18. Lutra munguis. F. Cuv. ?
Niam-niam : Limmu.
19. Ganis familiaris. L.
Dinka : Dyong.
Dyoor : Grook. '
Bongo : Bihee.
Niam-niam : Ango.
Mittoo: Weehy. .
Golo: Ovio.
Kredy : Kohno.
Sehre : Borro.
Monbuttoo : Nessy.
20. Canis variegatus. Cretsclim. (C. aureus auctorum.')
Dinka : A^n^aun.
Dyoor: Toh.
Bongo : Galali.
Niam-niam : Hoah.
Kredy : Glommu.
Golo : Ndaggeh.
Sehre : Ndeh.
21. Canis pictiis. Desm.
Dinka : Kwaty.
Bongo : Well.
Niam-niam : Tiah.
Sehre : Sahr.
22. Octoeyon Lalandii. H. Sm. ?
Dinka : Paudey.
23. Hycena crocata. Zimm.
Dinka : Angwee.
Dyoor : Utwomm.
Bongo : Heel 00.
Niam-niam : Wegge.
Mittoo : Moddaoo.
Golo : Mboo.
Sehre: Mboh.
604 THE HEAKT OF AFRICA.
24. Viverra civetfa. Schreb.
Dyoor : Yuoll.
Bongo : Kinrukkoo.
Niam-niam : Teeya.
25. Viverra genetta. L.
Dinka : Augonn.
. Dyoor : Anyara.
Bongo : Dougoh.
Niam-niam : Mbellee.
Golo: Mfah.
Kredy : Ndilly.
Sebre: Mebre.
26. Herpestes fasciatus. Desm.
Dinka : Agorr.
Dyoor : Gorr.
Bongo : Ngorr, or Dai.
Niam-niam: Nduttwah.
27. Felis leo. L.
Dinka : Kohr.
Dyoor: Moo.
Bongo : Pull.
Niam-niam : Mbongonoo.
Golo : Singilee.
Kredy : Ganye-kaza.
Sebre : Simnginny.
28. Felis leopardus. Scbreb.
Dyoor : Kwaty.
Bongo : Koggo.
Niam-niam : Mamab.
Kredy : Sellembey.
29. Felis caracal. L.
Dj'oor : Nwoi.
Bongo : Mudyokpollali.
Niam-niam : Mobboroo.
30. Felis se7-val. Scbreb.
Dinka: Dobk.
Bongo: Gregge.
Niam-niam : Ngaifoo.
APPENDIX in. 505
31. Ftlis inmdcidata. Temra : Kiipp.
Dinka : Angow.
Dyour : Bang, or Gwang.
Bongo : Mbira-oo.
Niam-niam : Dandalah.
Golo : Dahve.
Kredy : Lehje,
Sehre : Sahte.
Mittoo: Ngorroh
32. Sciurus leucumbrinus. Riipp.
Dyoor: Aiyeda.
Bongo : Remme.
Niam-niam : Bedevry.
33. Sciurus superciliaris. A. Wagn.
Dinka: AUohl.
D^oor : Anyuai.
Bongo : Urenge.
Niam-niam : Bamumba, or Bakuiiibali.
Golo : Angah.
Sehre : Serenna.
34. Mus decumanus. Pall.
Bongo : Limy.
Niam-niam: Gwah.
35. Mus alexandrinus. Geoffr
Dinka : Lohk.
Bongo: Higgeh-roo, or Eohpattali.
Niam-niam : Babilly,
Kredy: Ohtoli.
Sehie : Dyoo.
3(3. Golimda pulchella. Gray.
Dinka : Manyang.
Dyoor : Weeo.
Bongo : Yangah,
Niam-niam : Sikka.
Golo : Ngadze.
Mittoo: Gaggah.
506 THK HEART OF AFRICA.
37. Meriones Burtonii. A. Wagn.
Dinka : Maval kondo.
Dyoor : Omadda.
Bongo : Mokokoh, or Higgebnyakkah.
Niam-niam : Zakadda.
Golo: Fyako.
Kredy : 11 tee.
Sehre : Dyoo.
38. Mm gentilis. Brants.
Bongo : Mangbelle.
Niam-niani : Ndekkitelly.
39. Aulacodus Swinderianus. Teinm.
Bongo : Bobko.
Dinka: Lony.
Dyoor : Nyanyahr.
Niam-niam: Eemvo or Alimvoh.
Golo: Elle.
Sehre : Abattara.
Kiedy : Mbadja.
Mittoo: Wobko.
40. Lepus cethiopicus. Ebrbg.
Dinka : Anyorr.
Dyoor : Ap-woio.
Bongo : Battab.
Niam-niam : Ndekutteh.
Kredy : Ohzo.
41. Hystrix cristata. L.
Dyoor : Sbyow.
Bongo : Keboa.
Niam-niam : Nzingeneh.
42. Orycteropus oeihiopicus. Sundev.
Dyoor: Mobk.
Niam-niam : Kabre.
43. Manis Tonminckii. Simd.
Dyoor: Kong.
Bongo : Konn.
Niam-niam : Basbisbee.
APPENDIX TIL 507
44. Elephns africanus. Blum.
Dinka : Akonn.
Dyoor : Lyady.
Bongo : Kiddy.
Niam-uiam : Mbarah.
Mittoo: Kiddy.
Golo: Offio.
Kredy : Morrongoh.
Sehre : Shall.
45. Rhinoceros bicornis. L.
Dyoor : Umwoli.
Bongo : Basha.
Niam-niam : Kangah.
Kredy : Grurnppo.
46. Hippopotamus amphibius. L.
Dinka : Nyang.
Dyoor : Fahr.
Bongo: Habba.
Niam-niam : Duppoh.
Golo : Fyongoo.
Kredy : Mnmgoo.
Sehre : Diffoh.
47. Hyrax sp.
Bongo: Mberedoo.
Niam-niam : Attaboo.
Lehsy : Keltoh.
Golo : Ngaffe.
Kredy : Ozo.
Sehre : Nogoun.
48. Fluxcochcerus Aeliani. Eiipp.
Dinka : Dyehr,
Dyoor: Kull.
Bongo: Bohdoo.
Niam-niam : Tibba.
Mittoo: Waduli.
Kredy : Bonghoh, or Boddoh-
Golo : Vungbah.
Sehre : Badzo.
508 THE HEART OF AFRICA.
49. Potamnclvicrus penicillatus. Gray.
Niam-niam : Mokkuroo, or Djombon
Monbuttoo: Napazo.
50. Camelopardalis giraffa. L.
Dinka: Mehr.
Dyoor : Wehr.
Bongo : Killiroo.
Niam-niam : Basumbarrigby.
Golo : Ndakkala.
Kredy : Govi.sisee.
Sehre : Bagga.
61. Sus sennaariensis. Fitz.
Dinka : Angow.
Dj^oor : Amayok.
Bongo : Mondoh.
Niam-niam : Gurrwa.
Mittoo Madi : Legyeh.
52. Antilope Oreas. Pall.
Dinka : Golgwall.
Dyoor : Odyerr.
Bongo : Mburreh.
Niam-niam : Mbuireb.
Mittoo : Kehr, or Mburreh.
Bellanda : Odehr.
Kredy : Kobbo.
Sebre : Kovo.
Golo : Kobbo.
TjS. Antilope leucophcea. Pall, (^goceros. Ham. Sm.)
Dinka : Amomm.
Dyoor : Ommar.
Bongo : Manya.
•Niam-niam : Bisso.
Golo : Vunniingoo.
Bellanda : Omabr.
Sebre : Debngab.
54. Antilope nigra. Harris. {Mgoceros. Hani. Sm.;
APPENDIX III.
50iJ
65. Antilnpe caama. Gray. (^Aci'onotm. H. Sm.)
Dinka : Alalwelil.
Dyoor : Puiroh.
Bongo : Karia.
Niam-niam : Songoroh, or Soggumoo.
Mittoo : Borro.
Golo : Kotzo.
Kredy : Kreia.
Sehre : Dangab.
Babuckur : Borro.
Monbuttoo : Nakkibbee.
5t). Antilope leucotis. Licbt. Peters. (Kobus. A. Sin.)
Dinka: Teel.
Dyoor : Teel.
Bongo : Kalah.
Niam-niam : Tagba.
Mittoo: Kalla.
Sebre : Boddy.
Kredy : Ngaio.
Golo : Ngallab.
Monbuttoo : Nebpedde.
o7. Antilope defassa. Eiipp. (Kobus. A. Sm.)
Dinka : Pobr or Fobr.
Dyoor : Ummoowoli.
Bongo : Booboo.
Niam-Niam : Mbagga.
Mittoo: Lehby.
Kredy: Adyee.
Golo: Boggo, or Weeudy.
58. Antilope megaloceros. Hengl.
Dinka: Abobk.
59. Antilope arundinacea. Gray.
Dinka : Kao.
Dyoor : Kobr.
Bongo : Yolo.
Niam-niam : Yoro.
Golo: Ngallab.
Sehre : Dyiang.
(Kobus. A Sm )
[Eleotragus. )
510 THE HEART OP AFRICA.
60. Antilope scripta. Pall. (Tragelaphvs. Blainv.)
Dinka : Pehr, or Fehr.
Dyoor : Rohro.
Bongo : Tobbo.
Niain-Niam : Boddy.
Golo : Kuffoo.
Mittoo: Ehboo.
Kredy : Leuje.
Sehre : Ya-oo, oi* Yavoh.
Bellanda : Eodda.
HI. Antilope Addax. Licht.
Dinka : Anyidohl.
Bongo : Owel.
62. Antilope senegalensis. H. Lin. {JDumalis. Gray.)
Dinka : Tyang.
Dyoor : Tabng.
Bongo : Tangbe. '
63. Antilope madoqua. Eiipp. [Gephaloloplius. H. Sm. Hens.)
Dinka : Lobdy.
Dyoor : Nettyade.
Bongo : Heggoleb.
Mittoo: Kulleb.
Niam-niam : Bongbalyah.
Golo : Leffa.
Kredy : Kebdo.
Sebre: Ngogob.
Sbillook : Akony.
64. Antilope grimmia. Licbt. (Gephalolophus. H. Sm.)
Dinka: Amook.
Dyoor : Nyepael.
Bongo : Deelg.
Niam-niam : Bafoo.
Mittoo : Lebloo.
Mittoo-Madi : Heeboo.
Sebre : Dee.
65. Antilope pygmcea. Licbt. (Gephalolophus. H. Sm.)
Bongo : Mburrumoo.
Niam-niam : Mourrab.
Sehre : Nzerre.
Monbuttoo •. Nelunbokoh.
APPENDIX III. 511
66. Anlilope sp. minor rufescens. (^Cephalolophtis. H. Sra.)
Bongo : Dongboli.
Niam-niam : Koiituinoh.
67. Gapra liircus. L.
Dinka : Tonn (male) ; Tohk (fcuiale).
Dyoor : Byell.
Bongo : Binya.
Niam-niam : Wussindeh.
Mittoo : Oanya.
Golo : Orego.
Kredy : Ehne.
Sehre : Mvirry,
Monbnttoo : Memmeii.
68. Ovis aries. L.
Dinka : Amahl.
Dyoor : Koliino.
Bongo : Eomboh.
Kredy ; Ndilliraee.
Mittoo: Kameleh.
Sehre: Dzagga.
60. -Bos taurus. L. (B. Zehu, var. Africana).
Dinka : Webng (common) ; Tonu (male) ; Ngoot
(female).
Bongo : Shah.
Niam-niam : Ililty. .
Mittoo: Ehshah.
Golo: Moddoh.
Kredy : Modoh.
Dyoor: Dyang.
70. Buhalis Gaffer. Gray.
Dinka: AnyaiT.
Dyoor : Dyooy.
Bongo : Kobby.
Niam-niam: Mbab.
Golo : Meende.
Kredy : Sobbo, or Mbah.
Sehre: Mbah.
512 THE HEAUT OF AFIUCA.
71. Manatus senc(ialcnsi.s. De.sni. M. Vogelii?
Nxibians : Khaioof-el-Bahr.
DOUBTFUL SPECIES, KNOWN ONLY FKOM IN-
FORMATION DERIVED FROM NATIVES.
72. Sorex sp. ?
Bongo : Higgeh Karia.
73. Mus sp. ?
Bongo : Mobiddy.
74. Mus sp. f
Bongo : Highee Deeloo.
75. GhrijsoMcyris sp. ? {Talpa ? }
Bungo : Brumur.
Niam-niani : Tundooah.
INDEX.
A-Banga, tribe of, i. 522 ; entertaining,
i. 531 ; their arrows, i. 53i ; trophy
of their heads, ii. 176, 178 ; great
body of, ii. 180.
Aboo Guroon, i. 185 ; repulsed by
Tikkiboh, ii. 95; visit to, ii. 287;
his death, ii. 308.
Aboo Maaref, i. 242.
Aboo Odfa, a natural monument, i. 37.
Aboo Sammat, i. 99 : his liberality.
i. 333, 417 ; his hospitality, i. 351 ;
his speech, i. 397; his territory,
i. 465 ; wounded, ii. 171 ; present
from, ii. 277 ; attacked, ii. 285.
Abrey (cold cup), i. 373.
Acacia, spirocarpa, i. 59 ; verugata,
i. 76 ; fistula, i. 97.
Adenia venenata, i. 135
Adimokoo the Akka, ii. 127; his war-
dance, ii. 129.
Agar, i. 225.
Ahmed, i. 434 ; his death, ii. 230.
Ahmed Aga, ii. 357, 360, 369.
Akka, their country, ii. 84 ; their
height, complexion, and hair, ii. 140 ;
appearance, ii. 141 ; their hands,
skull, and eyes, ii. 142 ; ears and
lips, ii. 143 ; dialect, ii. 144 ; their
treatment by the Monbuttoo, ii. 145.
Alhizzia serico-eephalus, i. 144.
Algiers, ii. 435,
Allagabo the Bongo, ii. 205, 460, 487.
Aloe, not found in Egypt, i. 105 ; with
green blossom, ii. 203.
Alwaj district, i. 171.
Ambatch (Hermiuiera), i. 61 ; canoes,
i. 77.
Amomum, i. 468.
Vol. II.— 35
Analogy of rivers, i. 113.
AnunacesD, i. 497.
Anona Senegalensis, i. 222.
Antelopes : megaloceras, i. 63 ; madoqua,
i. 188, 243, ii. 464 ; caama, i. 195, 427 :
leucotis, i. 196, 241, 457 ; ii. 233,445;
Uucophxa, i. 216 ; nigra, i. 242 :
grimmia, i. 243; arundniarea, ii.
446; ellipsiprymna, i. 338; oreag.
i. 359, ii. 248 ; antelope chased by
hyaena, ii. 205.
Ant-hills, i. 349 ; ii. 196.
Anthocleista, i. 470.
Antinori, Marquis, i. 185 ; ii. 80.
Ants, invasion of, ii. 227.
Apostrophe to the Nile, i. 1S7.
Arab nicknames, i. 82.
Arabs, true, i. 28.
Arash Kol, Mt., i. 57.
Arbab, marriage of, i. 40.
Arslan, my sheep dog, i. 56 ; stung by
bees, i. 74 ; his death, i. 217.
Assika, the river, ii. 183.
Atoborroo, i. 457.
Awoory, i. 377.
Babickur, raid on, ii. 222 ; persecu-
tion of, ii. 257 ; their women, ii. 258 ;
value aa slaves, ii. 419.
Baginze, Mt., ii. 212; its position,
ii. 213 ; vegetation, ii. 214.
Baggara, i. 06; Kizegut, ii. .341, :U»5.
Bahr-el-Arnb, its moulh, i. 122, i*len-
tity with the iJaiir-il-Uouir, ii. 370 ;
its importance, ii. 392.
Bahr-el-(ihazal, compared to thi- Havel,
i. 115; its imiKjrtance, i. 123, 125.
(_Vide Gazelle.)
514
INDEX,
Bahr-el-Kooioo, ii. 353.
n;ikor, Sir Samuel: encounter with
nutives, i. 30 ; bis opinion of soil by
the White Nile, i. 56 ; fcuppression
of slave expedition from Fashoda,
i. 83 ; hindered at the grass barrier,
i. 106; loss of pack-ass, i. 135 ; praiae
of Lepidosiren, i. 136; living on
Melochia, ii. 197; book of travels,
i. 320, ii. 198 ; condt-mns eleusine,
i. 492 ; statement about Lake Mwoo-
tan, ii. 162; peremptory measures,
ii. 410, 429; indignation against,
ii. 485.
Balxniceps rex, i. 117, ii. 472.
Bamboos (bambusa), i. 183 ; in blossom,
i. 237 ; jungles, ii. 251, 253.
Bastard-gemsbock, i. 216.
Beads, i. 203, 502 ; ii. 235.
Beans, i. 249 ; ii. 254.
Bear-baboons, i. 198.
Bearers, desertion of, i. 184, feeding
them, i. 461, 475 ; consideration
shown to them, i. 477 ; an exhausted
bearer, i. 433; three of them mur-
dered, ii. 220.
Bedouins, town, i. 28.
Beery, the river, ii. 377.
Bees : attacked by a swarm, i. 73 ;
suifering from their stings, i. 75.
Bees' wax, ii. 167.
Behnky, name for Niam-niam chief-
tains, ii. 22.
Bellanda, i. 200.
Berl)er, i. 38; return to. ii. 485.
Bet-el-Gellahba, ii. 394.
Bishareen, i. 28 ; their sheep and goats,
i. 32 ; ugliness of the women, i. 36.
Blessing, the missionary, ii. 482.
Blippo {Gardenia maUeifera), i. 440 ;
used by Monbuttoo, ii. 104.
Boar, wild, i. 363.
Bodumoh, the river, ii. 202.
Bongo : festival of, i. 183 : their coun-
try, i. 257 ; vassalage, i. 259 ; popu-
lation, i. 260 ; complexion, i. 261 ;
stature, i. 263 ; skull and hair,
i. 264 ; agriculture, i. 266 ; smoking,
i. 269 ; goats, i. 270 ; dogs, i. 271 :
hunting, i. 272 ; money, i. 279 :
ornaments, i. 279; graves, i. 285
303 ; music, i. 287 ; weapons, i. 299 ;
games, i. 300 ; fear of ghosts, i. 305 ;
belief in witches, i. 307; singing
i. 309 ; dialect, i. 311 ; sauces, i. 462;
concert, ii. 404 ; value as slaves,
ii. 419 ; chief, executed, ii. 457.
Bongwa, the chieftain, i. 543 ; his wife,
i. 544 ; return to, ii. 153.
Boroo or borru), ii. 32, 181.
" Bride of the Fish," i. 16.
Bruce, the traveller, i. 113.
Buffalo, attack of a wild, i. 64 ; frantic
herd of tliem, i. 70 ; African species,
i. 193 ; alarmed by, ii. 259 ; herd of
them, ii. 265 ; calf killed, ii. 347.
Bunza, son of Munza, ii. 57.
Buslibock killed, ii. 255.
Bushmen, ii. 139.
Butterflies, i. 197.
Butter tree, i. 220.
Calamvs, hedge of, i. 468.
Calotropis, ii. 343.
Cannibalism : traces of, i. 517 ;
amongst Niam-niam, ii. 17, 224 ;
amongst Monbuttoo, ii. 93.
Cara'ib (Bucerosia), i. 22.
Caroob, i. 191.
Carpodiuus, i. 192.
Cat, wild (^Felis Manicidata), i. 320.
Cattle-diseases, ii. 280.
Cattle-raids on Dinka, i. 227 ; ii. 465.
Caves of Kulongo, i. 234.
Charcoal, ignorance of, i. 208.
Chimpanzees: abundance in Wando's
district, i. 497, 518 ; mode of catch-
ing, i. 521.
Chinese hand-barrows, ii. 307.
Christianity and slave-trade, ii, 432.
Christ's thorn (^Zizyphus Baclei), i.
360.
Cogyvor, or wizards, i. 331.
Cola-nut, ii. 49.
Coldest day, ii. 304.
Coloc-asia, i. 445.
Copper : taken as exchange, i. 502 ;
known to Monbuttoo, ii. 109 ; orna-
ments, ii. 110; goods obtained for,
ii. 362 ; mines, ii. 372.
INDEX.
515
Cordia dbyssinica, i. 558.
Oroco.iiles, ii. 336.
Cussoiiia, ii. 212.
(Jyanite, ii. 47.
Dal Kurdyook, a Dinka chief, ii. -16G.
Damury, ii. 345.
Damvo, ii. 212.
Dangabor, Bongo ornament, i. 282.
Dangadduloo, i. 372.
Dapper, ii. 136.
Dar Aboo Dinga river, ii. 390.
Dar Ferteet, district of, ii. 365, 430.
Darfoor, refuge for outlaws, i. 383 ;
route to, ii. 371 ; its copper-mines,
ii. 372.
Defafang, an extinct volcano, i. 69.
Dehms, ii. 355, 3G5 ; Dehni Nduggo
ii. 860; Dehm Gudyoo, ii. 380;
Dehm Bekeer, ii. 387.
Deloo antelopes, i. 245.
Depopulation of Africa, ii. 437.
Deraggo, i. 399.
Dialect : Dyoor, i. 200; Bongo, i. 311 ;
Niam-niam, ii. 31; Moubuttoo, ii.
i02; Akka, ii. 144; Golo, ii. 350;
Kredy, ii. 368 ; Sehre, ii. 396.
Dinka : territory, i. 148 ; physical
peculiarities, i. 149; ornaments, i.
153 ; weapons, i. 155 ; cookery,
i. 157; bouses, i. 159; domestic ani-
mals, i. 160; population, i. 167;
character, i. 169 ; soil, i. 180.
Displacement of Nile vegetation, i. 69.
Djee, the river, ii. 388, 395.
Doggoroo, the river, i. 327 ; ii. 268.
Doggudoo (or Dokkuttoo), i. 367.
Dome-palms (^Ityphxne thebaica), ii.
185.
Doomookoo, i. 240.
Dracsenae, i. 21 .
Dualism of vegetation, i. 223, 505.
Ducks, i. 120.
Dueme, village on the Wlnti; Xile,
i. 59.
Duggoo, i. 343.
Dugwara, i. 389.
Duisberg, German vice-consul at lihai-
tooin, i. 42,45; ii. 182.
Dumburre, ii. 407.
Dyafer, Pasha, Governor-general of
Klmrtoom, i. 44 ; ii. 479, 483.
Dyagbe, the river, i. 51 6.
Dyoor, the river, mouth of, i. 124 ; oM
bed of, i. 125 ; dimensions of, i. 186 ;
ii. 283,312; fishing in, ii. 451.
DvoOR, nation ; name and dialect, i.
200 ; complexion and omanients.
i. 201 ; women, i. 202 ; slimnees.
i. 204; sptars and spades, i. 20."i ;
iron-smelting, i. 206; smelting-fnr-
naces, i. 207 ; huts, i. 209 ; hunting
snares, i. 211; character, i. 211:
clay-floors, i. 212; affection, i. 212.
Earth-nuts, i. 250.
Eclipse of sun, i. 11.
Egyptians, their troops, ii. 357 ; their
apathy, ii. 435.
Elephants : African contrasted with
Indian, i. 139 ; traces of, i. 457 :
hunted by Niam-niam, ii. 25 ; pre-
sent of a young elephant, ii. 277.
Eleusine-com, i. 248, 448, 492; beer
made from, ii. 13.
El-Sett (the grass barrier), i. 107.
El-Uslier, ii. 343.
Encephalartus, i. 448; ii 375.
Ensete (wild plantain), ii. 215.
I Entada scandtns, ii. 62.
I Eriddendron anfracttiosum, ii. 351.
Erkoweet, a summer retreat from Sua-
I kin, 1. 25.
Euphorbise, i. 21 ; candelabra, i. 120.
Extract of meat, ii. 69, 234.
1 Faki, grave of a, ii. 292 ; reverence f.ir
I Fakis, ii. 324 ; Fakis as slave-dealers.
I ii. 413.
I Fan, analogy with Niam-niam, ii. 19
Fanatical priest from Kauo, i. 30 ; an
offended, ii. 342.
Fanekama, ii. 479.
Farookii (black soldiers), ii. 182. 421.
Fashoda, limit of E>:yptian government.
i. 78 : return to, ii. 479.
Ferns, i. 507.
Fever, immunity from, i. 128; deaths
from, ii. 48 "..
Fig-trei a of Mon'nuttdO, ii. 88 ; gigantic
£516
INDEX.
tree in Bongo land, ii. 343 ; in Seri ba
Moody, ii. 405.
Fire, alarm of, i. 316 ; ii. 461 ; in Seriba,
ii. 2'JO.
Flags, i. 138.
Flies on the Gazelle, i. 115.
Fulbe, affinity of Monbuttoo with, ii.
101.
Funguses, i. 267.
Gadda, the river, ii. 251.
Gallery-forests, i. 504 ; vegetation of,
i. 506.
Garden, my, i. 213.
Gazelle, the river (13ahr-el-Ghazal), i.
112, 113, 123, 126 ; ii. 473.
Geer, the Seriba, i. ISl, 230 ; ii. 460.
Geese, on the White Nile, i. 54.
Gellahbas (slave-dealers), i. 228; ii.
356, 360, 365, 412, 417.
Ghattas, choice of, i. 45 ; contract with,
i. 48; a bird named, i. 115; his
Seribas, ii. 270, 289.
Ghetty, the river, ii. 336.
Gimsah, sulphur works at, i. 12.
Giraffes, i. 182.
Gnats, i. 115.
Gneiss-hills, i. 536 ; ii. 387.
Goat-suckers (^Cosmetornis Spekii
Sclatei), i. 357.
Goggo, i. 394.
Gourds, i. 252, ii. 269.
Grovernment contract, i. 6; troops, ii.
305.
Grass, i. 229.
Grass-barrier (El-Sett), i. 105.
Grass-huts, ii. 226.
Greenstone prevalent, i. 32.
Gresse, the river, ii. 3S0.
Gudyoo, Dehm, ii. 379.
Guinea-fowl, i. 460.
Guinea-hog, ii. 78.
Gimiango, the hill, i. 446 ; chasm, ii.
346.
Gum-arabic, i. 97.
Gun-accident, i. 88; narrow escape
from, i. 474, 497.
Gyabk, the interpreter, i. 513 ; shot in
the arm i. 533; his cowardice, ii.
284.
Habbabkum, i. 65.
Ualii'tos vocifer, i. 96.
Hartebeests, i. 195; ii. 231, 259, 263
463.
Hassanieh — their cattle, i. 58 ; theii-
dogs, i 59.
Hegelig (Balanites), i. 66.
Hellali, the swindler, ii. 266, 330, 356,
364.
Herminiera (ambatch , i. 61.
Heuglin, Theodor von, i. 129 ; ii. 337,
339, 344.
Hexabolus (Anonacea), i. 432.
Hibiscus, i. 253.
Hippopotamuses — in the White Nile, i.
56 ; in the Keebaly, ii. 159 ; in the
Dyoor, ii. 314; their fat, ii. 316; one
dying, ii. 473.
Hoo, the river, i. 456 ; ii. 200, 225.
Humboldt Institution, grant from,
i. 4.
Humboldtia (Kobbo-tree), i. 451.
Hussien, my Nubian servant, i. 416.
Huts, of the Dyoor, i. 209; grass, ii.
226.
Hyseua-dogs (_Canis pictus), ii. 274.
Hyajna-woman, i. 307 ; ii. 475.
Hyaena chasing an antelope, ii. 205.
Hydrographical law as affecting river
banks, i. 54.
Hyptis, i. 250.
Ibba, the river (the Upper Tondy), i.
435.
Ibrahim Effendi, ii. 363.
Idrees (Ghattas's plenipotentiary), i.
178 ; his negligence, ii. 297.
Idrees, Wod Defter, ii. 349.
ludimma, ii. 239.
Inglery, Mohammed Aboo Sammat's
trumpeter, i. 490.
Islamism, ii. 434.
Islands of Sixth Cataract, i. 40.
Ismail Pasha, bon mot of, i. 113.
Issoo, the Upper Tondy, ii. 210.
Ivory, trade in Khartoom, i. 46 ; traffic
unimportant, i. 175; Europeans in
ivory trade, i. 177 ; cost of, i. 503.
Izingerria — visit to, i. 547.
INDEX.
si-
Jackals, i. 236.
Jewish school, i. 330
Kahpilt, the river, ii. 155.
Kamrasi, inquiries for, ii. 67.
Kanna, ambassadors from, ii. 55 ; march
to, ii. 240.
Karra, the magic tuber, ii. 399.
Keebaly, the river, ii. 151 ; its rapids,
ii. 158 ; its identity with the UppLr
Shary, ii. 161.
Khalil, i. 188; ii. 302, 318, 409, 453.
Khareef, i. 324.
Khartoom: merchants of, i. 5; arrival
at, i. 42 ; reception in, i. 44 ; ivory
trade of, i. 46; ship-building at, i.
51 ; return to, ii. 481.
Khaya-tree, i. 188.
Kher, Mohammed, i. 71.
Khor-el-Eenuem, ii. 353.
Kigelia, i. 140.
Kilnoky, i. 231.
Kishy, bridge over the river, ii. 203.
Kissere (Arab bread), i. 249 ; ii. 252.
Kites, ii. 231 .
Kobbo-trees (Humboldtia), i. 431.
Kokkorokoo, the tree, i. 469.
Kosaria palmata, i. 220.
Baapf, ii. 138.
• Keedy: their appearance, ii. 367
boundaries, ii. 368 ; huts, ii. 375 ;
corn-magazines, ii. 376.
Kubby, ii. 157.
Kudy, village of, i. 170 ; ii. 466.
Kulongo, i. 233.
Km-batches, ii. 317.
Kurdyook, Shol's husband, i. 133 : ii.
469.
Kurragera, southern limit of Aboo
Sammat's territory, i. 395.
Kurkur, ii. 273.
Kurshook Ali, the Sandjak, ii. 265 ;
his death, ii. 282.
Kussumbo, woods on the, i. 541 ; ii.
154.
Kyatt worm, i. 166.
Kyt, cul-de-sac on the Gazelle, i. 124,
127; ii. 471.
Lao, its water, i. 143 ; ii. 467.
Lassav (Capparis galeata), i. 23.
Lavargue, French vice-consul at
Berber, i. 39; his death, ii. 4S6
Leopard killed, ii. 255.
Lepidosiren, i. 135.
Le Saint, i. 129.
Leucotis antelopes, i. 196.
" L'homme a queue'' told on tlie Nile,
i. 68 ; ii. 2.
Lightniug, women killed by, i. 317.
Lindukoo, last stream of Nile-system, i.
486, 493; cataract on, i.491 ; ii. 191.
Lions: limited in number, i. 361 :
carrying off a soldier, i. 367 ; track
of a, ii. 156; one shot, ii. 311.
Livingstone, Dr., i. 504 ; ii. 99, 186.
Lizards (Aqama colonorum), i. 322.
Lollo, the river, ii. 477.
Longo, dirt in, ii. 340.
Loobah woman, i. 409.
Madikajim, ii. 201.
Madoqua antelopes, i. 244.
Maia Signora, i. 107 ; ii. 474.
Maize, i. 248; preparation by Niani-
niam, ii. 16; in Mbomu's district, ii.
I 254.
j Mabzac, i. 337.
Manatus, in the Keebaly, ii. 160.
Mandeb (Mimosa aspirata), i. 61.
Manioc, bearer poisoned by, i. 476 ; its
cultivation, i. 525.
Manzilly, the brook, i. 458.
Maogoo, cattle from the, i. 546 ; ii. 69 ;
probable identity with the Malegga.
ii. 85.
Marshes, mode of crossing, i. 498.
Matamma, on the Nile, i. 31k
Mbahly : nickname for Aboo Sanmuit.
i. 481 ; Munza's inquiri.s for, ii. 3S ;
liis challenge, ii. 177.
Mbarik-pah, the leaf-cater, i. 513; ii.
202.
Mbomo, the Seriba, ii. 247, 253.
Mbrwole, the river, i. 496; ii. 188, 189.
Mehemet Ali, ii. 431.
Menagerie, a, ii. 278.
Merdyan's Seriba, ii. 204.
Meshera, i. 48; arrival at the, i. 124:
the mode of anchoring in, i. 130 ;
SIS
INDEX.
slart from the, i. 137; cmbaikation
from the, ii. 469.
Mice, i. 273.
Mimosa, stranding on a, ii. 260.
Minstrels, a Niam-niam, i. 445 ; ii. 30,
241.
Mirakok, i. 145.
MiTTOo: tour in their country, i. 367;
language, i. 403 ; fertility of soil, i.
405; ornaments, i. 411; biar. r.<, i.
419;' value as slaves, ii. 419.
Mufio, ii. 389, 417.
Molmul, the river, ii. 273, 301.
Moravoo: goats of the, ii. 69; their
country, ii. 83.
MoNBTJTTOo : pipes, i. 548 ; canoes, i.
555 ; charm of country, i. 557 ; halls^
ii. 42 ; their curiosity, ii. 53, 59 ;
women, ii. 60, 91 ; reports of territory,
ii. 81, 82 ; government, ii. 86 ; scenery,
ii. 86 ; produce, ii. 87 ; hunting, ii. 89 ;
cannibalism, ii. 92 ; potentates, ii.
96; complexion, ii. 100; dialect, ii.
102; coiffure, ii. 106; weapons, ii.
107, 111 ; smelting, ii. 108 ; tools, ii.
112; benches, ii. 113; shields and
seat-rests, ii. 115; water-bottles, ii.
116; basket-work and musical in-
struments, ii. 117; architecture, ii.
118; religion, ii. 120.
Money, iron, i. 279.
Mongolongbo, valley of, i. 429.
Mongono, ii. 348.
Monkeys, i. 488.
Morokoh, tlie river, ii. 251.
Mummery, Munza's brother, ii. 72, 74;
his body-guard of Akka, ii. 131.
Mundo, of the Bongo, i. 241 ; ii. 258.
.Minido in Zile'i Mountains, ii. 210.
iSIungala, Niam-niam game, ii. 28.
Muntass Bey, Governor of Suakin, i.
24.
IMunza : messengers from, i. 556 ; view
of his palace, i. 558 ; his friendship
for Mohammed, ii. 37 ; summons to,
ii. 39 ; waiting for, ii. 41 ; liis orna-
mental weapims, ii. 43, 94 ; his cos-
tume and appearance, ii. 45; pre-
sents for, ii. 47 ; his mode of smok-
ing, ii. 48 ; his oration, ii. 51 ; his
present to me, ii. 52 ; his sister, ii
58 ; his wives, ii. 58 ; his castle, ii.
63 ; his arsenal, ii. 64 ; his dance, ii
75 ; his sleeping apartments, ii. 77
visits from, ii. 77 ; his dish, ii. 79
his harem, ii. 96 ; his household, ii.
97 ; his wardrobe, ii. 98.
Murhaga, ii. 424.
Musa sapientium, i. 447.
Mvolo, district of, i. 384 ; animals in
i. 387.
Mwata Yanvo, ii. 99.
Nabambisso, the river, ii. 193.
Nalengbe, Munza's sister, ii. 58, 95.
Names of places, i. 194.
Ndoruma, ii. 309.
Nduppo, Wando's brother, i. 478; his
death, i. 517.
Nt-mbey, visit from, i. 540 ; arrival at,
ii. 1.53.
Neophron pileatus, i. 97.
Ngama, i. 411.
Nganye, a Niam-niam chieftain, i. 436 :
visit to, i. 431; his ftimily, i. 450;
stay with, ii. 243.
Ngoly, i. 428 ; ii. 263.
Ngudoroo, the river, ii. 388.
Ngulfala, distillery in, i. 238 ; ii. 403.
Niam-niam : first sight of, i. 189 ; start
to their country, i. 416; their huts,
i. 449 ; their chiefs, i. 467 ; modesty
of the women, i. 471 ; morning
toilette, i. 491 ; names of, ii. 3 ;
their country, ii. 3 ; their appearance,
ii. 5; clothing, ii 6; head-gear, ii.
7 ; decorations, ii. 8 ; trumbashes, ii
9 ; weapons, ii. 10 ; hunting and
agriculture, ii. 12 ; beer, ii. 13 ;
pipes, ii. 14; dogs, ii. 15, 241 ; archi-
tecture, ii. 20 ; chieftains, ii. 21 ;
emblems of war, ii. 23 ; handicraft,
ii. 25; greetings, ii. 27; marriages
and conjugal affection, ii. 28 ; music,
ii. 29; dialect, ii. 31; auguries, ii.
'ri2 ; superstition and treatment of
dead, ii. 34; attack by,ii. 236; value
as slaves, ii. 419.
Nile-boat-s crowded, i. 50 ; ii. 478.
Nilometer, piopo-sed, i. 41.
INDEX.
519
No, Lake, i. Ill, 112.
Nsewne, the Akka, ii. 132; liis love of
mischief, ii. 14-1.
Nubians: their pitiable condition, i.
41 ; their superstitions, i. 49 ; ii. 322 ;
how to deal with them, i. 421 ; tlieir
inconsistency, ii. 165; their dislike
to pure water, ii. 275 ; soldiers, i.
176.
Nueir, district of the, i. 117; their
habits, i. 119.
Nyemata, Mount, i. 67.
Nyitti, i. 251.
Nymplixa steUata and N. lotus, i. 114.
0-BONGO, ii. 135.
Oil palm, ii. 89 ; oil from, ii. 92.
0-mareg, summer retreat from Suakin,
1.31.
Ombet (dragon-tree), i. 22.
Ori, Dr., letter to Antinori, ii. 80 ; his
death, ii. 486.
Oysters, river, ii. 452.
Papykds, i. 109; at the Kyt, 1. 126.
Parkia-trees, ii. 339.
Parley with Niam-niam chiefs, ii. 169.
Farra africanus, i. 136.
Parrots, grey, ii. 9.
Peneeo, the behnky, i. 436.
Penicillaria, i. 248.
Pepper, cayenne, i. 253; malaghetta,
i. 468 ; Ashantee, ii. 382.
Petherick, i. 127.
Piaggia, his visit to the Niam-niam,
i. 434, 504 ; inquiries about, i. 480 ;
ii. 56 ; his lake, ii. 65.
Pillen-wasp (^Eurnenes tinctor), i. 321.
Plantains, i. 198; ii. 87,88.
I'latycerium elephantotis, i. 538.
Plotus melanogasfer, i. 114.
Polopterus bichir, i. 135, 232.
Poncet, the brothers, contract with the
government, i. 382 ; their settlement,
1. 393.
Pougo, the river, ii. 344.
Popukky grass, i. 437, 447.
I'ort Rek, i. 125; ii. 467.
Posts, memorial, i. 517.
Pusliyoli, a Treculia, i. 528,
I Pygmies : my incredulity about, i. 68 ;
exchange a dog for a pygmy, ii. 67 :
stories about, ii. 153. {Vide Akka.)
Python Seh.r, killed near Fashoda, i.
83; and antelope killed together,
i. 364.
Quinine, i. 128 ; value of, i. 323.
Rainfall, ii. 281
I Baphia vinifera, i. 199; used for build-
j ing, ii. 42.
Rats, ii. 405.
Red Sea, voyage on, i. 11 ; heat on,
i. 15 ; nights on, i. 18.
Reed-rats, ii. 384 ; hunting, ii. 408,
446.
Reggo, i. 392.
Rek, Port, i. 125 ; ii. 467.
Rhinoceros-bird ( Tetmoceras abyssi-
nicus), ii. 205.
Rice, i. 247.
Riharn, my cook, i. 60, 486; ii. 204.
Rikketo, Wando's brother, i. 479; enter-
taining, i. 486 ; visit to, i. 487 ; his
wives, i. 489.
Roah, the river, i. 367.
Rock rabbits, i. 385.
Rold, the river, i. 376, 401.
Rokko-coats of Monbuttoo, ii. 104.
Rokooba, ii. 289.
Roway, salt-works at, i. 16.
Rye, the river, 1. 448.
Sabby (Seriba), i. 337, 340 ; ii. 264.
Sablook, i. 40.
Salt-works at Cape Roway. i. 16.
Sarcocephalus, i. 192.
Schw-einfurthia, i. 35.
Scorbutic attack, ii. 381
Scorpions, ii. 456.
Seebehr Rahama, ii. 329 ; his Seriba.
ii. 354; his couii, ii. 361 ; dtpartuie
from, ii. 374.
Sehre, ii. 395, 397, 401.
Seriba, i. 47; Ghattas's, i. 172; de-
struction of a, i. 225; law, i. 22(1;
controllers of, ii. 426; Sliercefee's.
i. 310.
Sesame, i. 229.
520
INDEX.
Seyleb (Sahseviera . i. 22.
Sliary, identity with the Welle, i. 553. j
Shekka, ii. 370.
Shcreefce, his Seriba Duggoo, i. 343 ;
his Seriba Dogguddoo, i. 344: ; dearth
in his Seribas, ii. 267 ; attacks Mo-
hammed, ii. 85; shielded by the
Aga, ii. 358.
SniLLOOKS: first sight of, i. 72; sta-
tistics, i. 85 ; tlieir villages, i. 87 ;
their animals, i. 91 ; pursuit by, i.
101 ; market, i. 101 ; ii. 471.
Shipbuilding in Khartoom, i. 51.
Shol, the Dinka queen, i. 141 ; her
riches and influence, i. 131 ; her
appearance, i. 132; presents to, i.
134 ; her death, ii. 338 ; remains of
her huts, ii. 469.
Slioosh-grass {Fanicum turgidum), i.
53.
Short rations, ii. 196.
Siiigat, i. 24.
Skins, abundance of, i. 481.
Skulls, purchase of, ii. 54; in Berlin
Museum, ii. 32.
Slaves crowded in boats, i. 50 ; ii. 478 ;
as jjayment to soldiers, i. 175 ; dying
of starvation, i. 346 ; feeding a cara-
van of, i. 368 ; complaints of female,
i. 390 ; cruelty to, ii. 414 ; price of,
ii. 418 ; comparative value of, ii. 419 ;
number of, ii. 420 ; as soldiers, ii. 421 ;
private, ii. 422 ; employed in hus-
bandry, ii. 425 ; treatment in Egypt,
ii. 436 ; on board the Nile boat, ii.
470 ; at Wod Shellay, ii. 480 ; con-
fiscation of, ii. 483.
Slave-dealer from Tunis, i. 189.
Slave-trade : independent of ivory
trade, i. 46 ; population of Bongo-
land diminished by, i. 260 ; tacitly
acknowledged, i. 381 ; all enuerprise.«
involved in, i. 383; flourishing in
1870 and 1871, ii. 410; sources of,
ii. 428 ; abolition of, ii. 433 ; measures
taken in Fanekama against, ii. 478.
Slave-traders: iniquity of, i. 190; ren-
dezvous at Shekka for, ii. 370 ; goods
bartered by. ii. 411 ; description of,
ii. 412; risks incurred by, ii. 415;
hospitality shown to, ii. 416; cla«scs
of, ii. 417.
Smeltiug-fumaces : of the Dyuor, i.
207 ; of the Bongo, i. 208, 278
Sobat, the river, i. 100.
Soiree musicale of the Bongo, i. 354.
Soldiers: Nubian, i. 176; black, i. 4S3.
Soliman, son of Kurshook Ali, ii. 452.
Solar phenomenon, i. 326.
Solongoh, ii. 389.
Sorghum, i. 245 ; ii. 252.
Sources of slave-trade, ii. 428.
Sparmannia, ii. 200.
Speke, i. 113, 319 ; ii. 126.
Spiro streptus, i. 214.
Squirrels {Sciurus leucumbriniis), i.
387.
Steps counted in walking, ii. 300.
Sterculia, ii. 393.
Steudner, Dr., i. 129 ; death of, ii. 337.
Suseda (samphire), i. 17.
Suakin, sea-route to, i. 10; excursion
from, i. 19 ; return to, ii. 488.
Suez, blunders in telegram, i. 7 ; scenes
in governor's divan, i. 8, 9 ; canal, i.
10.
Sugar-canes, i. 547.
Sulphur-works at Gimsah, i. 12.
Sun, eclipse of, i. 11.
Suppression of slave-trade, suggestions
for, ii. 439.
Surroor, Aboo Sammat's lieutenant, i.
465 ; his mbanga, i. 470 ; speaks
Arabic, i. 473.
Swamp-men, i. 119.
Sway, the river, identical with the
Dyoor, i. 453 ; crossing the, ii. 228.
Swords, ii. 457.
Take, village of, i. 145 ; ii. 467.
Telegram, i. 7 ; ii. 482.
Terminalia, i. 426.
Thibaud, ii. 482.
TikkitikM, ii. 133; parting from
friends, ii. 149 ; successful shooting,
ii. 278, 450 ; illness and death, ii.
486.
Tinne, Miss, fatality of expedition, i.
129 ; her he:idquarters, ii. 332 ; her
motlier, ii. 338.
INDEX.
521
Tobacco, i. 160, 214, 254, 269; ii. 14,
87.
Tokkuls, i. 178.
Tombo, king, i. 4S0.
Tondy, tlie river, i. 181 ; passage over,
i. 336 ; suspension-bridge over, ii. 43,
44 ; crossing the, ii. 2G9.
Transport, means of, i. 139 ; ii. 305 ;
suggestion for, ii. 307.
Travelling costume, i. 425.
Troglodytes niger. i. .^119.
Trumbasb, i. 441 ; ii. 9.
Trumpet-tree, ii. 157.
Tubers, i. 250, 2H8, 445
Tudyee, the river, i. 366, 426.
Tuharay, arrival of, i. 542 ; his Seriba,
ii. 201, 209.
Turks, ii. 3.59.
Urostigma Kotscliyana, ii. 88 ; bast of,
ii. 102.
Usnea (beard-moss), i. 26.
(Jzze, the river, i. 477.
Valisneria, in the Gazelle, i. 123.
Vasel, ii. 485.
Vayssiere, the French hunter, i. 185.
Vegetation of Nile displaced by civili-
zation, i. 69.
Viceroy, hon mot of, i. 113; smull
power of, ii. 441.
Victoria regia, attempt to naturalize, i.
121.
Vine, wild, ii. 234.
Vicera genetta, i. 490.
Wando: animosity of, i. 482; river of,
i. 496 ; Mohammed's interview with
i. 501, 504; his nonchalance, i. 505:
his present of food, i. 511 ; his
augury, ii. 33, 49.
Watches, ii. 299.
Water, bad, ii. 400.
birds, ii. 315.
lilies, i. 114.
plants, i. 121.-
slied of Nile, i. 494.
Welle, the river, i. 548, 5.54.
White-ants : their hills, i. 120 ; of the
trees, i. 539 ; as food, ii. 197.
White Nile, embarkation on, i. 49.
Widow-ducks, i. 121.
Wild boar shot, i. 363.
Wofl Shellay, i. 56 : ii. 480.
Wounds, Mittoo treatment of, i. 371 ;
by arrows, ii. 279 ; Dyoor treatment
of, ii. 334.
Wow, the Seriba, i. 91.
Wow, the river, i. 190 ; ii. 333.
Yabo, i. 476.
Yabongo, i. 476 ; ii. 193.
Yams, i. 250.
Yangas grave, i. 285.
Yolo-antelopes, ii. 446.
Yubbo, the river, i. 478 ; ii. 192.
Yumnia, Kurshook All's Vokeol, ii.
884, 389.
Yuroo, i. 531.
Zawa-trees, i. 447; ii. 200.
I Zebra-ichneumon, i. 358.
Zilei Mountains, ii. 210.
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